TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Steven Stamkos scored his fourth and fifth goals of the series and the Tampa Bay Lightning avoided elimination with a 6-3 victory over the Florida Panthers in Game 4 of the first-round playoff matchup Saturday night. Game 5 is Monday night at Florida. Only four times in 206 tries has an NHL team rebounded from a 3-0 deficit to win a series. “The odds aren't great being down 3-zip,” Stamkos said. “Three-one, they're a little better. And hopefully next game it's 3-2 and then the

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Tampa Bay defenseman Mikhail Sergachev was a surprise addition to the lineup and had an assist in the Lightning's Game 4 win against the Florida Panthers on Saturday night after being out since early February with a broken left leg. Sergachev had surgery one day after he got hurt during a game at the New York Rangers on Feb. 8. “I felt like a hockey player again.” Sergachev said after the Lightning avoided elimination with 6-3 victory over Panthers. “A little bit tired, obviou

TORONTO — William Nylander has joined the Stanley Cup chase. The Maple Leafs winger was in the lineup for Game 4 of Toronto's first-round playoff series with the Boston Bruins on Saturday night after sitting out the first three contests with an undisclosed injury. Nylander, whose team trailed Boston 2-1 in the best-of-seven Original Six matchup entering play, scored 40 goals for the second consecutive regular season to go along with a career-high 98 points in 2023-24. The 27-year-old also had 10

NEW YORK (AP) — Mathew Barzal capped a solid all-around effort by the New York Islanders with their season on the line to get a big win. Barzal scored his second goal of the game on a deflection 1:24 into the second overtime and the Islanders beat the Carolina Hurricanes 3-2 in Game 4 on Saturday to avoid a sweep in their first-round playoff series. Jean-Gabriel Pageau also scored and Semyon Varlamov stopped 42 shots — including 18 in the overtimes — on his 36th birthday to help the Islanders st

DENVER (AP) — Winnipeg defenseman Brenden Dillon is considered day-to-day after receiving stitches in his left hand where he was apparently cut by a skate blade. The Jets face Colorado in Game 4 on Sunday in a first-round series the Avalanche lead 2-1. Dillon suffered the laceration after the final horn of Colorado's 6-2 win Friday, when several players were involved in a fight. Soon after, Dillon skated toward the locker room holding his bleeding hand. There was blood on the ice and on the back

DENVER — A handful of Colorado Avalanche players participated in an optional skate Saturday after an emphatic win over Winnipeg a day earlier. The Jets went the opposite way, holding a full-team regular practice as they look to rebound from a third period and Game 3 loss they'd like to forget. Colorado scored five times in the final stanza — including three goals over a six-minute stretch — for a 6-2 win and 2-1 series lead. The teams face off again Sunday afternoon at Ball Arena. "We have these

Mathew Barzal scored his second goal of the game on a deflection 1:24 into the second overtime and the Islanders beat the Carolina Hurricanes 3-2 in Game 4 on Saturday to avoid a sweep in their first-round playoff series.

Mathew Barzal scored his second goal of the game on a deflection 1:24 into the second overtime and the Islanders beat the Carolina Hurricanes 3-2 in Game 4 on Saturday to avoid a sweep in their first-round playoff series.

NASHVILLE — Killing penalties hasn't always been a strength for the Vancouver Canucks. The team's penalty kill struggled through much of 2022-23 and threatened to be the worst in NHL history. After rebounding slightly late in the regular season, Vancouver still finished with a league-worst 71.6 per cent success rate. Now the special teams unit has become a strength for the Canucks, particularly in the first-round playoff series against the Nashville Predators which the Canucks lead 2-1 heading i

Nine players have already scored for the New York Rangers and Edmonton Oilers, 10 for the Colorado Avalanche. That depth of scoring early in the NHL playoffs has the Rangers on the verge of sweeping Washington, while Edmonton and Colorado are looking to take 3-1 leads Sunday in their respective first-round series against Los Angeles and Winnipeg. “You’re going to need that more throughout the course of the playoffs,” said Rangers coach Peter Laviolette, whose team could next face Carolina 18 yea