(Tampa) The Tampa Lightning have their ticket to a third consecutive Stanley Cup final.
Posted at 10:55 p.m.
He will try to win the prestigious trophy for a third year in a row. To do this, he will have to take the measure of the Colorado Avalanche in the final.
Steven Stamkos scored both goals for the Lightning and his team defeated the New York Rangers 2-1 on Saturday to win the Eastern Conference Finals in six games.
Ondrej Palat was instrumental in Stamkos’ two goals. The Lightning lost the first two games of the series before coming from behind and winning the next four games.
Frank Vatrano was the lone scorer for Rangers, who before Saturday’s game had won all five games in the 2022 playoffs when they faced elimination.
Andrei Vasilevskiy was sparkling, stopping 20 shots.
Opposite Igor Shesterkin was also solid in the loss, making 29 saves.
The Lightning won an 11e consecutive streak – third most in NHL history for such streak.
Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals is Wednesday in Denver, Colorado.
Corey Perry has become the second player in NHL history to reach three consecutive Stanley Cup Finals with three different teams. He faced the Lightning in 2020 with the Dallas Stars then in 2021 with the Montreal Canadiens.
Marian Hossa also succeeded in this tour de force.
Despite their dominance in the first period, the Lightning were unable to open the scoring. Stamkos is the player who came closest to scoring when his shot hit the horizontal bar.
Despite multiple spectacular saves, including one from close range at the expense of Nikita Kucherov, Shesterkin finally yielded at 10:43 in the middle period.
The Lightning captain used Rangers defenseman Ryan Lindgren as a screen and his long shot caught Shesterkin off guard.
After Alexis Laffrenière created a penalty, Rangers tied the game. With less than seven minutes to go, Andrew Copp won the face-off and Vatrano immediately unsheathed the throw-in to beat Vasilevskiy to the glove side.
Just 21 seconds later, Stamkos – who was guilty of the penalty on Vatrano’s goal – restored the Lightning’s lead. His initial shot was blocked by Shesterkin, but the rebound hit him before entering the net.