Rangers winning both sides of the ice in ECF

After winning the series opener with an offensive display, the Rangers used a strong defensive effort to take Game 2. Now they are two victories away from reaching the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in eight years.

Mika Zibanejad scored in the third, Igor Shesterkin stopped 29 shots and the Rangers held on to beat the Lightning 3-2 on Friday night in the Eastern Conference finals.

“It’s a huge win for us, but we just get ready for the next one,” Rangers coach Gerard Gallant said. “They way we played the last two games, that’s the way we’re going to have to play to win the series. We want to battle hard, we want to compete hard and we’ve been a tough out so far.”

K’Andre Miller and Kaapo Kakko scored in the first period, and Adam Fox and Chris Kreider each had two assists for the Rangers. The Rangers won their eighth straight home game, extending a franchise playoff record.

“We did a great job limiting them, especially in the first two periods,” Fox said. “We didn’t make too many mistakes. ... When we needed those big saves, we got them at the end as usual.”

College softball: Jocelyn Alo homered and knocked in three runs to help No. 1 seed Oklahoma beat Big 12 rival Texas 7-2 on Saturday at the Women’s College World Series. Alo had already set the NCAA career home runs record with her 96th homer back in March, but her a shot to left field in her first at-bat Saturday made her the first player in Division I history with three 30-homer seasons.

Golf: A hole in one helped Victor Perez take a one-stroke lead into the final round of the European Open on Saturday with a chance to win a second title in as many weeks. The Frenchman, winner of the Dutch Open last weekend, shot a 1-under 71 thanks to a great start at Green Eagle, a birdie on the par-4 first hole and a hole in one on the par-3 second.