Stamkos, Palat lift Lightning over Blackhawks again

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Steven Stamkos and Ondrej Palat had a goal and an assist each, and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Chicago Blackhawks 5-2 on Friday night. Yanni Gourde and Blake Coleman added a goal and an assist and Alex Killorn also scored as Tampa Bay completed a sweep in a season-opening two-game...

Stamkos has goal, 2 assists as Lightning beat Blackhawks 5-1

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Steven Stamkos had a goal and two assists in his return to the Tampa Bay Lightning lineup, and the defending Stanley Cup champions opened the season with 5-1 victory against the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday night. Stamkos underwent surgery in early March that kept him out of all but...

Stanley Cup finalists land in NHL's altered Central Division

The NHL's pandemic-altered divisions were set up based on geography in the hope that reducing travel will help the games go on. Each of the four divisions are stacked with talented teams in the professional sports league with perhaps the most parity on the planet. The Central Division, though, has some unusual...

Lightning embrace challenge of defending Stanley Cup title

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Winning Stanley Cup championships in consecutive seasons is rare. The Tampa Bay Lightning are confident they can do it. Even without leading scorer Nikita Kucherov, who’ll miss the year after undergoing hip surgery. The Lightning are that talented with a highly skilled offense...