Panthers beat Lightning, lead 3-0

Sergei Bobrovsky made 26 saves, Matthew Tkachuk scored twice and the Florida Panthers beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 5-3 on Thursday night to take a 3-0 lead in the firstround playoff series.

Brandon Montour, Sam Reinhart and Steven Lorentz also scored for the visiting Panthers, who will seek a sweep Saturday night in Tampa.

Tkachuk had a firstperiod goal and added an empty-netter with 32 seconds left.

Steven Stamkos, Tyler Motte and Nicholas Paul scored for Tampa Bay, with Paul cutting it to 4-3 with 5:10 left. Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 26 shots.

Montour gave Florida a 3-2 lead on a blueline shot with 3:30 left in the second, with Lorentz making it a two-goal game from the slot at 9:41 of the third.

After withstanding several minutes of sustained pressure at the defensive end, Florida tied it at 2 on Reinhart's goal at 9:58 of the second.

Stamkos scored 44 seconds into the second before Motte put Tampa Bay up 2-1 just 2:12 later. The 34-year-old Stamkos is the ninth player 34 or older to score in each of his team's first three playoff games, and the first since San Jose's Patrick Marleau in 2014.

HURRICANES 3, ISLANDERS 2 >>

Defensemen Brent Burns and Dmitry Orlov got Carolina off to a fast start and the Hurricanes held on to win at New York for a 3-0 lead in the first-round series.

Sebastian Aho also scored for the Hurricanes and Andrei Svechnikov had two assists. Frederik Andersen stopped 29 shots. Carolina won for eighth time in nine games at UBS Arena, which opened for the 2021-22 season.

Brock Nelson and Pierre Engvall scored for the Islanders. They are a loss away from being eliminated by Carolina in the first round for the second straight year.

COLE, THE VOICE OF HOCKEY IN CANADA, DIES

Bob Cole, the voice of hockey in Canada for a half century who served as the soundtrack for some of the national sport's biggest moments, has died. He was 90.

Friend and fellow broadcaster John Shannon said Cole died Wednesday night in his hometown of St. John's, the capital of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the network for which Cole worked, announced his death Thursday, adding daughter Megan said her father had been healthy “up until the very end.”

AT 90 >> SCHEDULE

WESTERN CONFERENCE

WINNIPEG 1, COLORADO 1

Game 1: Winnipeg 7, Colorado 6 Game 2: Colorado 5, Winnipeg 2 Today: at Colorado, 7 p.m. Sunday: at Colorado, 11:30 a.m. Tuesday: at Winnipeg, TBA x-Thursday: at Colorado, TBA x-May 4: at Winnipeg, TBA

VANCOUVER 1, NASHVILLE 1

Game 1: Vancouver 4, Nashville 2 Game 2: Nashville 4, Vancouver 1 Today: at Nashville, 4:30 p.m. Sunday: at Nashville, 2 p.m. Tuesday: at Vancouver, TBA x-May 3: at Nashville, TBA x-May 5: at Vancouver, TBA

VEGAS 2, DALLAS 0

Game 1: Vegas 4, Dallas 3 Game 2: Vegas 3, Dallas 1 Saturday: at Vegas, 7:30 p.m. Monday: at Vegas, TBA x-Wednesday: at Dallas, TBA x-May 3: at Vegas, TBA x-May 5: at Dallas, TBA

EASTERN CONFERENCE

CAROLINA 3, N.Y. ISLANDERS 0

Game 1: Carolina 3, N.Y. Islanders 1 Game 2: Carolina 5, N.Y. Islanders 3 Game 3: Carolina 3, N.Y. Islanders 2 Saturday: at N.Y. Islanders, 11 a.m. x-Tuesday: at Carolina, TBA x-Thursday: at N.Y. Islanders, TBA x-May 4: at Carolina, TBA

FLORIDA 3, TAMPA BAY 0

Game 1: Florida 3, Tampa Bay 2 Game 2: Florida 3, Tampa Bay 2, OT Game 3: Florida 5, Tampa Bay 3 Saturday: at Tampa Bay, 2 p.m. x-Monday: at Florida, TBA x-Wednesday: at Tampa Bay, TBA x-May 4: at Florida, TBA

BOSTON 2, TORONTO 1

Game 1: Boston 5, Toronto 1 Game 2: Toronto 3, Boston 2 Game 3: Boston 4, Toronto 2 Saturday: at Toronto, 5 p.m. Tuesday: at Boston, TBA x-Thursday: at Toronto, TBA x-May 4: at Boston, TBA

N.Y. RANGERS 2, WASHINGTON 0

Game 1: N.Y. Rangers 4, Washington 1 Game 2: N.Y. Rangers 4, Washington 3 Today: at Washington, 4 p.m.

Sunday: at Washington, 5 p.m. x-Wednesday: at N.Y. Rangers, TBA x-May 3: at Washington, TBA x-May 5: at N.Y. Rangers, TBA