Ondrej Palat broke the deadlock with 41.6 seconds remaining in the game and the Tampa Bay Lightning posted a big 3-2 win over the New York Rangers on Sunday.
During a sustained attack in the Rangers zone, Victor Hedman passed the disc to Nikita Kucherov, who served a fine backhand pass to Palat. His shot without warning slipped under the arm of goalkeeper Igor Shesterkin.
The two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Lightning narrowed the series to 2-1 with their fifth straight win at home. Game 4 is Tuesday night in Tampa.
Kucherov finished the game with a goal and two assists for the Lightning, who took advantage of two power plays. Steven Stamkos added a goal as Hedman had two assists.
Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy gave up twice on 30 shots, but he mostly stood out in the first 40 minutes of play.
Mika Zibanejad had a goal and an assist for the Rangers, who saw their four-game winning streak come to an end. Chris Kreider also hit the mark while Artemi Panarin set up his team’s two successes.
Shesterkin was once again fuming in front of the New Yorkers goal. He stopped 48 pucks and allowed more than two goals for the first time in five starts.
Both goaltenders stood out in the first period, making a few important saves to keep the score at 0-0.
Vasilevskiy notably stood up in front of defender Jacob Trouba while at the other end of the ice, Shesterkin frustrated Kucherov, who had broken away in front of him.
The Rangers had a golden opportunity to open the scoring in the second period, while shorthanded. On a two-on-one climb, K’Andre Miller passed the puck to Barclay Goodrow and his shot went through Vasilevskiy’s pads before however hitting the left post.
It was only a postponement for the visitors, a few moments later. On a numerical superiority, Panarin made a cross pass to Zibanejad, but the latter missed his shot on reception. Seconds later, the puck landed on the Swede’s stick blade and this time his one-timer shot gave Vasilevskiy no chance.
Zibanejad was once again at the heart of the Rangers power play just over two minutes later. His hard one-timer was stopped by Vasilevskiy, but Kreider jumped on the loose puck to move the ropes and double the lead for his team.
The Lightning’s power-play unit also came into focus, just over a minute after Kreider’s goal. The disc circled well in New York territory and Kucherov unleashed a low shot that caught Shesterkin between the pads.
It was again with one more player that the Florida formation tied the game, from the second minute of the last third. On the right wing, Corey Perry made a cross pass to Stamkos, who quickly drew to deceive the vigilance of Shesterkin in the top corner.