TAMPA, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Lightning returned to winning ways as they completed a late three to two comeback win against the New York Rangers on Sunday at Amalie Arena.
Ondrej Palat scored the game-winning goal in the last 41 seconds of regulation to give the Bolts their first victory in the Eastern Conference Final series.
The Rangers started the game strongly and were rewarded with two goals in the second period to put heavy pressure on the home side in searching for a win.
However, the Lightning pulled one back with a goal from Nikita Kucherov midway in the second period to give them a boost of confidence heading into the last period.
Bolts captain Steven Stamkos equalized early in the third period before Palet scored within the last minute to ensure a late comeback win for Tampa Bay.
The dramatic victory still leaves the Lightning behind two to one in the series, but the team can head into Game 4 with some breathing room as they avoided a third consecutive defeat against New York.
A "three-peat" is still on the hunt for the Bolts, and doing so would make them only the fourth team to reach that accomplishment, along with the Toronto Maple Leafs (1947-49), the Montreal Canadiens (1956-60, 1976-79) and the New York Islanders (1982-1982).
Puck drop for Game 4 against the Rangers is scheduled for 8 p.m. on Tuesday, June 7 at Amalie Arena.
10 Tampa Bay will keep you up to date with the latest score during the game.
Live Blog
3rd Period
5:50 p.m.
The third period comes to a close as the Lightning get their first win in the Eastern Conference Final series!
5:48 p.m.
Ondrej Palat scores within the last minute of the third period to give the Bolts a late 3-2 lead! Assisted by Victor Hedman and Nikita Kucherov.
5:14 p.m.
The Bolts equalize with a Steven Stamkos goal! The game is now tied 2-2. Assisted by Corey Perry and Nikita Kucherov.
5:11 p.m.
The third period is underway.
2nd Period
4:52 p.m.
End of second period. Bolts down 2-1.
4:36 p.m.
Nikita Kucherov scores the cut the defict in half. Bolts down 2-1. Assisted by Victor Hedman and Steven Stamkos.
4:32 p.m.
New York scores again to extend their lead 2-0.
4:26 p.m.
Rangers get the first goal of the game. Bolts down 1-0.
4:12 p.m.
The second period begins!
1st Period
3:53 p.m.
The first period comes to an end, Bolts tied 0-0.
3:16 p.m.
The puck has dropped and we are underway at Amalie Arena!
Pregame
3:03 p.m.
Here is the starting lineup for Game 3 against New York!
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Original story below:
There’s no panic in the Tampa Bay Lightning.
The two-time defending Stanley Cup champions are down 2-0 to the New York Rangers in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinal but remain confident they have what it takes to climb back into the best-of-seven series.
“Nobody’s expecting us to win a conference final 4-0,” forward Pierre-Edouard Bellemare said Saturday.
Game 3 is Sunday at Amalie Arena after the Rangers dominated the first two games at home. Fans are ready to cheer on the Lightning at home base.
Fans gather for Lightning vs Rangers Game 3 at Amalie Arena
Lightning coach Jon Cooper cited poor puck management, as well as the lack of a sense of urgency in his team’s play, as factors contributing to Tampa Bay losing consecutive playoff games for the first time in three years.
And while the coach was encouraged by the way his team responded during the second half of a 3-2 loss in Game 2, Cooper stressed the defending champs still have “better in us.”
“At some point you might lose two in a row in the playoffs. The fact that we haven’t for how many years is remarkable,” Cooper said after the Lightning’s NHL record of 18 consecutive wins in games following a postseason loss came to a screeching halt Friday night.
“Did it knock us out of playoffs? It did not,” Cooper added. “Do we have a hill to climb? There’s no question.”
But the Lightning feel they have the talent, as well as the resiliency and leadership, to overcome a sluggish start to the series.
“We played with a little bit of desperation,” Cooper said of the way Tampa Bay nearly wiped out a two-goal deficit in the closing minutes of Game 2. “For us to get back into the series, we’ll need a lot more of that.”
The Rangers have won six of their last seven games while outscoring opponents 28-13. They’ve gone on to win 11 of 13 series all-time after holding a 2-0 lead.
The Lightning face a two-game deficit in a playoff series for the first time since 2019, when they were swept by Columbus in the first round. They also wound up being eliminated after falling behind by two games in the series in 2014 and 2018.
The Rangers are two wins away from a trip to the Stanley Cup Final but don’t want to get ahead of themselves.
“It’s real exciting but we were on the other side of it when we were down 2-0 (to Carolina in the second round), so I think it’s a good lesson for us not to take our foot off the gas,” Rangers forward Adam Fox said.
“I think we’ve done a better job of playing on the road as the playoffs have gone along,” Fox added. “So, I think it’s important for us to carry on how we’ve been playing (at home) on the road, obviously try to play the same style of hockey.”
New York’s Kid Line of Alexis Lafreniere, Filip Chytil and Kaapo Kakko continues to shine, and goaltender Igor Shesterkin has outplayed Tampa Bay’s Andrei Vasilevskiy in helping the Rangers remain unbeaten against the Lightning (5-0, including regular season).
“He’s unreal. ... Every game he has a number of highlight-reel saves,” New York’s K’Andre Miller said after Shesterkin had 29 saves to Vasilevskiy’s 25 in Game 2.
“Obviously, (the Rangers) have a lot of trust in him, let him do his thing, try to limit the chances he sees by blocking shots, doing those little things,” Miller added. “But Shesty’s Shesty, he’s going to stop the puck.”
Despite having the upper hand in the matchup through two games, the Rangers goalie is sticking with his pre-series statement that fellow Russian Vasilevskiy is the best at his position in the world.
“Currently I don’t think that really matters. ... You can’t forget that the series is to four wins,” Shesterkin said. “We just have to keep playing.”