Alex Wennberg deflected home a goal 5:35 into overtime, and the New York Rangers reclaimed home-ice advantage in the Eastern Conference finals with a 5-4 win over the Florida Panthers in Game 3 on Sunday.

Jordan Eberle sparked a five-goal outburst in the second period with his fourth goal of the playoffs, Philipp Grubauer made 24 saves and the Seattle Kraken beat the Dallas Stars 7-2 to take a 2-1 series lead in their Western Conference semifinal.

Andre Burakovsky had two goals, including the winner in overtime, and the Seattle Kraken defeated the Los Angeles Kings 9-8 in the highest-scoring NHL game this season.

There used to be a thing called the Governor’s Cup, a trophy presented to whichever team won the annual regular season series between the Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning.

Chris Driedger stopped 30 shots to record his third shutout of the season, Juho Lammikko scored a short-handed goal, and the Florida Panthers secured home-ice advantage for the opening round of the Stanley Cup playoffs with a 4-0 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning in the regular season finale for both clubs.

Jonathan Huberdeau and Sam Bennett each had a goal and an assist for Florida.

Florida’s 6-1-2 start through nine games is the second-best in franchise history, topped only by the 6-0-3 record to open the 1996-97 season. “We've been consistent in most games," Florida coach Joel Quenneville said. Starting poorly, however, has pretty much snuffed out some Panthers seasons before they even started. The five Florida teams that went to the playoffs — 1995-96, 1996-97, 1999-2000, 2011-12 and 2015-16 — averaged 12 standings points through the season’s first nine games. There’s obviously a long way to go, but the Panthers finally have the start they wanted.

Rewind to 2019 and early 2020 and that description fits the Tampa Bay Lightning, who added some grit and toughness to their talented core and went on to win the Stanley Cup. The Lightning effect was clear as soon as NHL free agency opened. “You need guys that are going to have a little bit of sandpaper. “We maybe have taken a little bit of a step back from the most skillful lineup we’ve ever had to more of a balance between the will and the skill," Poile said. We certainly have a little bit more physicality, a little bit more grit and I think it’s probably and hopefully a better mix than we had last year.”___More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

SUNRISE, Fla. – Episode 25 of the Chirping the Cats podcast is all about the handful of new additions made by the Florida Panthers during the first week of free agency. We hear from new Panthers players Markus Nutivaara, Radko Gudas, Carter Verhaeghe, Alexander Wennberg and Vinny Hinostroza, as well as general manager Bill Zito, as they talk about the process of a crazy offseason that landed each of them in South Florida. SUBSCRIBE TO THE CTC PODCAST - iOS | Android1:20 Markus Nutivaara4:35 Radko Gudas9:05 Carter Verhaeghe13:05 Alexander Wennberg18:35 Vinny Hinostroza

SUNRISE, Fla. – The first six hours of the NHL’s free agency signing period were quite busy for the Florida Panthers. When the signing period opened at noon on Friday, Zito was one of the first GM’s to make a move. He’s a leader, he plays the game the right way, (and he’s) a very smart defender. We’re thrilled to have those guys on board.”Do you think teams are taking a cue from Tampa Bay after they were swept by Columbus in 2019 and adding some toughness to their skill? I think he’s ready to do that, and I think he’s excited.”Do you expect to add any goaltending depth?