Lightning's Gage Goncalves: Opens scoring in loss

Goncalves scored a goal on four shots and added two hits in Wednesday's 6-3 loss to the Panthers in Game 5.

Goncalves' postseason should be considered encouraging, as the 24-year-old put up four points, four shots on net, 15 hits, four blocked shots and a minus-2 rating over five games. That follows his 20-point effort over 60 regular-season contests in his first full NHL campaign. Goncalves was mostly a bottom-six forward this year, but he averaged 16:54 of ice time in the playoffs compared to 12:48 per contest in the regular season. All signs point to him playing a larger role to begin 2025-26 once the pending restricted free agent gets a new deal signed.