Last-minute goal lifts Lightning to their first win
Palat converts slick pass from Kucherov with 42 seconds left as Tampa closes deficit to 2-1 in Eastern final.
TAMPA, Fla. — Ondrej Palat scored with 42 seconds left and the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning beat the New York Rangers 3-2 on Sunday to cut their deficit in the Eastern Conference final to 2-1.
Palat’s goal, off a nifty pass from Nikita Kucherov, capped a comeback that began after Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider scored power-play goals in a span of slightly more than two minutes in the second period to put the Rangers up 2-0.
Facing the prospect of falling behind 3-0 in a series that began with a pair of losses on the road, the Lightning rallied with Kucherov scoring on the power play in the second period and Steven Stamkos blistering a shot past goalie Igor Shesterkin from the left circle early in the third.
“We’ve been in spots like this,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. “A big thing for us was, we felt we had a recipe, we just had to stay with it. I think there were times in the series where we’ve tried to manufacture things that weren’t there that put us on our heels, gave up opportunities. Whether it was a break, whatever it was, we weren’t in sync.”
Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 28 shots after being outplayed by Shesterkin in Games 1 and 2.
“They were the better team tonight overall,” Rangers coach Gerard Gallant said. “It went right down to the wire and [we] had a chance to win late. Disappointing, but we’ll move on and get ready for the next one.”
Artemi Panarin had two assists for the Rangers, and Adam Fox and Zibanejad had primary helpers on power-play goals resulting from a pair of penalties drawn by Shesterkin in the second period.
Tampa Bay’s Corey Perry was whistled for slashing on the first, and Riley Nash went to the penalty box for interference before Kreider’s goal made it 2-0 midway through the period.
Shesterkin finished with 48 saves, but the Rangers wasted an opportunity to regain control of the game when Kucherov drew a fourminute penalty for highsticking Zibanejad with a little more than nine minutes left.
In fact, New York lost the man-advantage when Jacob Trouba subsequently was penalized for tripping Tampa Bay’s Alex Killorn.
Shesterkin made save after save to keep the Rangers from falling behind, but couldn’t get his glove up high enough to stop Palat’s shot.
“The third period for us just wasn’t good enough,” Fox said. “We were on our heels the whole time. Eventually they’re going to get one, and they did.”
Rangers forward Ryan Strome left with an early injury, winding up playing a little more than seven minutes.
The Rangers lost to the Lightning for the first time this season. They entered Sunday 5-0 against the defending champions, with three of the wins coming during the regular season.