VASILEVSKIY, LIGHTNING BEAT PANTHERS IN GAME 4 FOR SWEEP

Andrei Vasilevskiy had 49 saves and the host Tampa Bay Lightning completed a four-game sweep of the Florida Panthers with a 2-0 victory Monday night that sent the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions back to the Eastern Conference final for the sixth time in eight years.

Pat Maroon snapped a scoreless tie, batting Zach Bogosian’s shot down behind Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky before the puck trickled into the net a little over six minutes into the third period. Ondrej Palat added an empty-net goal with 22 seconds left.

Vasilevskiy won his sixth straight game, a streak that began with the Lightning facing a 3-2 series deficit in the opening round. It was his sixth shutout in his last seven series-clinching wins.

The reigning Conn Smythe Trophy winner limited the high-scoring Panthers, who averaged an NHL-best 4.11 goals while compiling the league’s best record during the regular season, to just three goals in four games.

When Vasilevskiy began this postseason by yielding three or more goals in Tampa Bay’s first six games against the Maple Leafs, coach Jon Cooper said the Lightning’s confidence in him never wavered.

“I’m not so sure there’s much more I can say about him. It’s funny how the playoffs are five games into the Toronto series and you’re asking all these questions about what’s wrong with Vasilevsky,” Cooper said.

“It’s never a doubt in our locker room. A goalie’s job, if you want to be elite, is to give your team a chance to win,” the coach added. “When a goaltender gives your team a chance to win, it comes in a variety of ways.

Tonight, it was he wasn’t letting anything in. And we’ve seen that time and time again.”

The Lightning joined the New York Islanders and Montreal Canadiens as the only franchises to win at least 10 consecutive playoff series. Their bid to become the first team in 40 years to capture three straight Stanley Cup titles will continue in the East final against either the Carolina Hurricanes or New York Rangers.

The defending champs persevered Monday night despite having goals by Alex Killorn and Nikita Kucherov waved off within a 48-second span of the second period — the first after Florida coach Andrew Brunette challenged and a lengthy replay review determined Palat lifted the puck out of play along the boards before Mikhail Sergachev fired a shot that Killorn tipped past Bobrovsky.

Less than a minute later, Tampa Bay appeared to take the lead again only to have replay confirm Anthony Cirelli won a faceoff in the left circle with a hand pass that Kucherov rifled through Bobrovsky.

Avalanche 6, Blues 3: Nazem Kadri scored three goals, including two during a four-goal second period barrage, and visiting Colorado

beat St. Louis 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.