National Hockey

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Steven Stamkos scored two goals and Nikita Kucherov had a goal and three assists and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Florida Panthers 5-1 to move to the brink of another trip to the Eastern Conference final on Sunday.

NEW YORK (AP) — After two tough losses on the road put them in another series deficit, the New York Rangers again bounced back with a big home win.

DENVER (AP) — That water bottle tossed toward Colorado Avalanche forward Nazem Kadri hardly came out of nowhere. For two straight postseasons, Kadri has been the agitator that makes Colorado go and the pest that drives the St. Louis Blues crazy.

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Andrei Vasilevskiy is a not-so-secret key ingredient in the Tampa Bay Lightning's recipe for success in the playoffs.

While acknowledging the Tampa Bay Lightning are showing why they are back-to-back Stanley Cup champions, the Florida Panthers know the have only themselves to blame for going down 3-0 in the second round.

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Bryan Rust felt he deserved a raise. He just didn't necessarily want one so big it would jeopardize his chances of staying in Pittsburgh.

TORONTO — The Toronto Maple Leafs signed veteran defenceman Mark Giordano to a two-year contract extension Sunday. The average annual value of the contract is US$800,000.

VANCOUVER — The Vancouver Canucks announced Sunday assistant coaches Scott Walker and Kyle Gustafson and video coach Darryl Seward won't be returning next season.

If your team had a Vezina candidate in net and your offence chipped in with a dozen goals in two playoff games, chances are you'd be pretty upbeat entering a Game 3. But the Calgary Flames are really worried.

Florida Panthers (58-18-6, first in the Atlantic Division) vs. Tampa Bay Lightning (51-23-8, third in the Atlantic Division) Tampa, Florida; Monday, 7 p.m.