Bolts’ Johnson nets hat trick
EASTERN CONFERENCE: Tampa Bay draws even in series with Game 2 rout of Rangers
NEWYORK — If you were too busy Saturday afternoon to catch Game 1 of the Tampa Bay Lightning-New York Rangers Eastern Conference final, chances are somebody cracked “you didn’t miss much.”
If you didn’t see Game 2, you missed a lot — starting with goals and including a Tampa team that was back to being itself.
Led by a Tyler Johnson hat trick recorded before the game was half done, the Lightning evened the series with a wild 6-2 victory over the Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Monday night.
Alex Killorn added a pair and Steven Stamkos had the other Tampa goal, while Chris Kreider and Derek Stepan replied for the Rangers.
Ben Bishop made 35 saves, including a dandy potential gamechanger early in the third period.
With the Lightning holding on to a 3-2 lead, Rick Nash had a breakaway and while his shot was easily handled by Bishop, the rebound popped out to Jesper Fast, who had an open side calling his name. As Fast shot, Bishop stuck his left leg out to knock the puck down, and moments later Killorn was converting a sweet setup from a Victor Hedman slap pass.
Stamkos put the game out of reach with a nice deflection six and a half minutes into the third, while Killorn added his second on the power play late in the period.
Rangers’ goalie Henrik Lundqvist faced just 26 shots in what could only be described as a subpar performance. There were mistakes aplenty made on both sides, creating numerous scoring chances and power play opportunities.
The Lightning were 3-for-6 with the man advantage while the Rangers were 2-for-5.
The series now shifts to Tampa for Game 3 on Wednesday.
Tampa coach Jon Cooper might have had another uneasy stomach watching the start of this one, but despite taking four minor penalties by the 10:31 mark, the Lightning still held a 2-1 lead after one.
The night started off about as badly as could be imagined for Martin St. Louis. For the second game in a row, he failed to get a shot on net with a golden opportunity presented to him by Carl Hagelin inches from the edge of the crease. Moments later, with the Rangers holding a 5-on-3 advantage, St. Louis stubbed his toe just inside the Tampa blue-line, allowing for Johnson to race down ice on a breakaway. Lundqvist stopped his first shot, but Johnson banged in the rebound just as St. Louis was sliding into the post.
The Rangers got that one back on a power play a little more than three minutes later, with St. Louis earning an assist. When his shot failed to get through a crowd, Kreider kicked the puck to his own stick and flicked it in for his sixth of the playoffs.
Johnson rounded out the first period scoring with a flick of the wrists as the Lightning were on power play at the 11:15 mark. Challenging Lundqvist’s glove hand, Johnson snapped a shot through a small opening, just under the bar.
The 5-foot-8 centre completed his hat trick eight minutes into the second with a scrambly goal off an odd man rush. When Ondrej Palat’s shot went off the post and bounced off Lundqvist’s back, the puck lay loose in the crease.
Somehow, Johnson managed to nudge it just enough to go off the post and in.
Stepan closed the gap with a late second period power play goal from behind the Tampa net, bounced a shot in off Lightning defenceman Braydon Coburn with Bishop out of position.