Biden avoids politics in honoring hockey champion Lightning

By STEPHEN WHYNO
AP Hockey Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden avoided politics in honoring the NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning for winning the Stanley Cup in each of the past two seasons. It was a rare sports break for the president amid his administration’s response to Russia’s war in Ukraine. Russian players Andrei Vasilevskiy, Nikita Kucherov and Mikhail Sergachev attended the White House ceremony and shared photos on social media. The president cracked jokes about captain Steven Stamkos but made little mention of other players. There were no notable boycotts by Lightning players, who made an extra trip to Washington just for this occasion.