David Pastrnak had a goal and three assists to help the Boston Bruins beat the Washington Capitals 5-2 in each team's season opener.

Andrei Vasilevskiy wrapped up a series with a Game 6 shutout for the second straight time, stopping 29 shots in the Tampa Bay Lightning’s 4-0 victory over the Florida Panthers on Wednesday night.

Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 32 shots, Steven Stamkos and Ondrej Palat had first-period goals and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Florida Panthers 3-1 on Tuesday night to take a 2-0 lead in their Central Division first-round playoff series.

Anthony Duclair talks to Anton Stralman of the Florida Panthers talk while playing the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena on February 20, 2021 in Detroit, Michigan. SUNRISE, Fla. – Chris Driedger stopped 21 shots, Aleksander Barkov and Anthony Duclair scored, and the Florida Panthers dominated the Nashville Predators in a 2-0 victory. Nashville’s Juuse Saros stopped 47 of 48 shots, but the Predators couldn’t solve Saros, making his first start since March 7. Nashville beat the Panthers 2-1 on Thursday, but Florida improved to 9-0-1 following a loss this season. Duclair and MacKenzie Weegar assisted on Barkov’s goal, and Weegar stretched his career-best points streak to seven games.

Frank Vatrano of the Florida Panthers looks to pass the puck while being defended by Mark Pysyk of the Dallas Stars at the BB&T Center on February 22, 2021 in Sunrise, Florida. SUNRISE, Fla. – Frank Vatrano scored the go-ahead goal with 3:10 remaining and the Florida Panthers stunned the Dallas Stars 3-2 with a late comeback. Aleksander Barkov and Anton Stralman also scored in the final 6 1/2 minutes as the Panthers overcame a 2-0 deficit. Rookie netminder Jake Oettinger stopped 32 shots. Florida scored three times in 3:11 after a nine-minute delay to repair a section of the boards.

The 10th-seeded Panthers trail the best-of-five series 2-1 with Game 4 at the NHL's Eastern Conference hub city of Toronto on Friday. Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Brock Nelson, with 1:27 remaining, scored for the Islanders, the East's seventh seed. The Panthers scored first for the second straight game, with Haulas power-play goal 4:02 into the second period. NOTES: The game was Panthers first as the home team since 4-1 win against Montreal at Florida on March 7. The Islanders made no lineup changes from Game 2, while Panthers D Mike Matheson was scratched after picking up four of the Panthers 10 minor penalties this series.

CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. For Florida Panthers' rookie defenseman Riley Stillman, the last few years of his life have been a blur. Its exciting, Stillman said after Saturdays practice at the Panthers Ice Den. I think guys realize its pretty wide-open this year, Connolly said Saturday. VETERAN LEADERSHIPSaturday marked exactly two weeks until the Panthers and Islanders face off in Game 1 of their Qualifying Round series. Connolly also said it's the veteran players' job to "be there to listen, to help and to lead by example."

SUNRISE, Fla. – With 2019 about to come to a close, Episode 8 of Chirping the Cats features host David Dwork and his guest, Local 10′s Ian Margol, as they go up and down the Florida Panthers roster and assess each player’s season, to this point. SUBSCRIBE TO THE CTC PODCAST - iOS | Android2:20 – Josh Brown5:25 – Keith Yandle9:10 – Aaron Ekblad16:50 – Anton Stralman20:55 – Colton Sceviour22:50 – Jayce Hawryluk25:15 – Brian Boyle30:30 – Brett Connolly34:30 – Jonathan Huberdeau39:55 – Mark Pysyk43:10 – Dominic Toninato45:50 – Aleksander Barkov49:15 – Mike Matheson

Oh, and let us not forget the poor starts to the season that past Panthers teams have been notorious for setting themselves up with. "I think with the first month (of the season), we're still adjusting," said Florida forward JonathanHuberdeau. "Q is there, and he has a great system; we've just got to follow it every night." Florida allowed just 22 shots on goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, who registered his first shutout as a member of the Panthers. Puck possession was strong, as well, which will always lead to good things in Quenneville's system.