*Photo from NHL.com*
Tampa Bay leads series 3-2
Everyone knew this series was going to be a battle, and it's been a fun one. Mikhail Sergachev scored, Ondrej Palat scored the winning goal, and the Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the New York Rangers with a 3-1 victory on Thursday night in Manhattan.
After losing two straight games to begin the series, the Lighting were down 2-0, an unfamiliar spot for the back to back defending champions. They then proceeded to rattle off 3 straight wins, taking the 3-2 series lead, and now sit one win away from the Stanley Cup Finals.
Lightning captain Steven Stamkos said of Palat's goal that "Pally has been a guy that, like I've talked about and we've all talked about, is just the warrior mentality out there. He's willing to do anything and he gets rewarded because he plays the game the right way. Whether it's hockey gods or karma or whatever it is, you do the right things, things are bound to happen."
After the first period went scoreless, it was the Rangers who got on the board first, with Ryan Lindgren scoring his second goal of the playoffs, making it 1-0 Rangers with an unassisted goal. At the 17:34 mark of the second, Sergachev provided the equalizer, making it a 1-1 game on his first goal of the playoffs.
In the 3rd period, things were quiet. It went scoreless for quite some time, overtime was on the horizon. Until Sergachev shot a similar puck that went for his first goal. It was tipped in by Palat, who tallied his 8th goal of the playoffs with 1:50 left in regulation, making it 2-1 Lightning. Brandon Hagel scored an empty net goal to seal the 3-1 win.
Sergachev said of the game winning goal that "It's not like it's a super crazy play. It's just a simple play that we practice all the time. Guys go to the net, D-men shoot the puck. As Stamkos said, 'You keep doing that more and more and you are going to get rewarded.' Guys got rewarded tonight."
Getting the start and the win in goal for the Lightning was Andrei Vasilevskiy, who picked up his 3rd straight win of the series. Vasilevskiy was brilliant, stopping all but one of the 25 shots the Rangers sent at him, which was good for a .960 save percentage.
Starting once again for the Rangers was Igor Shesterkin, who couldn't match Vasilevskiy in his 3rd straight loss. Shesterkin saved 24 out of the 26 shots on goal that the Lightning had, recording a .923 save percentage in the loss.
Asked about the loss at home, Lindgren said that "We just couldn't seem to get that next goal. We've been in this situation before and it seems like we play our best hockey when our backs are against the wall. We've just got to go to Tampa and win a game. Take it one game at a time. Draw from those past experiences and go play our best hockey."
Up next, the series heads back to Tampa Bay, where a pivotal game 6 awaits. Game 6 will drop the puck on Saturday night, where the Lightning will look to clinch the Eastern Conference title, while the Rangers will look to force a game 7 back at home.
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