UNDATED (AP) — Pierre-Edouard Bellemare scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period, Andrei Vasilevskiy remained red-hot with 34 saves and the Tampa Bay Lightning topped the Florida Panthers 4-1 in Game 1 of an Eastern Conference semifinal series. Nikita Kucherov and Corey Perry each had a goal and an assist and Ross Colton also scored for the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions. The Lightning took Game 1 against their in-state rivals for the second consecutive season. Anthony Duclair had the goal for Florida.
Also:
—Josh Manson scored 8:02 into overtime, Darcy Kuemper made 23 saves in his return to the net from an eye injury, and the Colorado Avalanche beat the St. Louis Blues 3-2 in Game 1 of their second-round series. Valeri Nichushkin and Samuel Girard also added goals for an Avalanche team that had a weeklong layoff after sweeping Nashville. They outshot the Blues 54-25, including 13-0 in OT. The Avalanche also hit three posts and two crossbars. Ryan O’Reilly had a first-period goal and Jordan Kyrou tied it late for St. Louis. Jordan Binnington finished with 51 saves.
