TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Andrei Vasilevskiy had 49 saves and the Tampa Bay Lightning completed a four-game sweep of the Florida Panthers with a 2-0 victory that sends the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions back to the Eastern Conference final for the sixth time in eight years.
Pat Maroon and Ondrej Palat scored, and Vasilevskiy won his sixth straight playoff game, a streak that began with the Lightning facing a 3-2 series deficit to Toronto in the opening round. The high-scoring Panthers averaged a NHL-best 4.11 goals while compiling the league’s best record during the regular season, but were limited to just three goals in four games against the Lightning. Vasilevskiy got his sixth shutout in his last seven series-clinching wins.
In other action:
—Nazem Kadri scored three goals, including two during a four-goal second period barrage, and the Colorado Avalanche beat the St. Louis Blues 6-3 to take a 3-1 lead in their Western Conference series. Kadri’s outburst came after he received racist death threats on social media following a first-period collision with Blues goalie Jordan Binnington in Game 3. It was Kadri’s first career playoff hat trick. Erik Johnson and Devon Toews also scored and Mikko Rantanen added an empty netter for the Avalanche, while Darcy Kuemper made 17 saves. David Perron scored twice and Pavel Buchnevich had a goal and an assist for the Blues. Ville Husso made 31 saves.
