And we want to show we can beat the best," Rangers defenseman Jacob Trouba said. Game 4 was a more dominant effort, with the Lightning's defense and forecheck grinding the Rangers to a halt in a 4-1 win. Game 3 was a 3-2 stunner, with winger Ondrej Palat scoring the game winner with 42 seconds before overtime. They looked very much like a back-to-back Stanley Cup champion in doing so: controlling play, coming through in the clutch and getting superstar performances from winger Nikita Kucherov, center Steven Stamkos and goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy. The Tampa Bay Lightning won Games 3 and 4 at home to knot up their Eastern Conference finals series against the New York Rangers at 2-2. NHL, Tampa Bay Lightning, New York Rangers … Tampa Bay improved to 15-19 in Game 1s.You have reached a degraded version of because you're using an unsupported version of Internet Explorer.įor a complete experience, please upgrade or use a supported browserĢ022 Stanley Cup playoffs: How the Rangers-Lightning series got to 2-2, and what comes next … Florida fell to 4-8 in Game 1s, including the qualifying round two years ago. That broke a tie with Mike Babcock (Detroit) for fifth-most with one team, behind only Al Arbour (198, New York Islanders), Scotty Bowman (134, Detroit), Joel Quenneville (128, Chicago) and Glen Sather (127, Edmonton). NOTES: It was Cooper’s 124th playoff game with the Lightning. Tampa Bay left no doubt late, with Kucherov and Colton each getting power-play tallies in the final 4:06 to put the game away. “So you turn the page, get right back at it.”īut it was the last hurrah for Florida. “We knew, right away our coaching staff told us that wasn’t going to be a goal,” Duclair said. Video review confirmed that and the Lightning continued to lead 2-1. Tampa Bay challenged, saying the puck went off the netting and was therefore out of play. It appeared, for a moment, Florida ended its long power play drought and tied the score when Duclair scored on a loose puck. He beat Bobrovsky to the glove side for a 2-1 lead. The Lightning won a faceoff in the Florida zone and Perry took a quick shot from the slot that Bobrovsky stopped, but the rebound squirted right to Bellemare. “Their power play has been lethal.”Īfter Kucherov was hooked by Weegar, he went right around Florida defenseman Aaron Ekblad and fed Perry for a tap-in goal at 16:22 of the second period.īellemare’s goal came 3:35 into the third period, giving Tampa Bay its first lead of the game – and the Lightning kept it the rest of the way. “Part of our game plan was to stay out of the box,” Duclair said. But Tampa Bay cashed in three of its six chances. On to the next game.”ĭuclair, a 31-goal scorer, was scratched by Florida for its series-clinching win at Washington, but he was back Tuesday and gave his team the lead by scoring on a pass from Jonathan Huberdeau at 14:01 of the first.ĭuclair’s goal came after the Panthers killed off a pair of early penalties – one from MacKenzie Weegar and the other from Duclair – as special teams became a factor in the game.įlorida went 0 for 18 on the power play in the series win against the Capitals and was scoreless on three more tries Tuesday. “They are too good of a team, a veteran team, and they’re not going to open the door for you,’’ Florida interim coach Andrew Brunette said. Including the qualifying round that was held when the NHL restarted during the pandemic in 2020, Florida has lost seven consecutive Game 1s – a streak that goes back to 1997. “He’s a leader … he’s our best player.”Īnthony Duclair had the goal for Presidents’ Trophy-winning Florida, which got 32 saves from Sergei Bobrovsky. “He brings 100 percent effort every single game and everybody’s just trying to take his energy and bring it to your game,” Kucherov said. Over his last three games – all of them wins, including Game 7 at Toronto on Sunday – he’s stopped 94 of 99 shots. Time and again, Vasilevskiy slammed the door on Florida. Nikita Kucherov and Corey Perry each had a goal and an assist, and Ross Colton also scored for the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions, who went ahead 1-0 against their in-state rivals for the second consecutive season. SPORTS NEWSLETTER: Sign up now to get daily updates in your inbox
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