Lightning 6, Rangers 5 (OT)
TAMPA, Fla. -- The red-hot "Triplets" line of Ondrej Palat, Tyler Johnson and Nikita Kucherov carried the Tampa Bay Lightning to a 6-5 overtime win over the New York Rangers. Right winger Kucherov scored the line's fourth goal of the game 3:33 into overtime at Amalie Arena to take a 2-1 lead in the Eastern Conference finals.
Kucherov scored to beat Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist, who stopped 34 of 40 shots in the game, capping a Lightning comeback that saw them overcome an early 2-0 deficit, then lose a 4-2 lead and a 5-4 lead in the final two minutes.
Tampa Bay won two straight heading into Friday's home game in Game 4.
The Rangers rallied to tie the game with 1:56 left in the third period when defenseman Dan Boyle poked in a loose puck after Lightning goalie Ben Bishop, who stopped 23 of 28 shots in the game, had stopped a long shot. Tampa Bay had broken a 4-4 third-period tie with 5:55 left when left winger Palat scored his second goal of the night.
The Rangers had jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first 10 minutes, then saw the Lightning scored four straight goals for a 4-2 lead late in the second, then rallied back to tie the game at 4-4 early in the third.
The Rangers tied the game at 4-4 early in the third, on the power play with 17:32 left, as defenseman Ryan McDonagh beat Bishop for his third goal of the playoffs.
Tampa Bay, down 2-0 midway through the first period, rallied for a 4-2 lead, getting three goals in a seven-minute span of the second period, two from Johnson and Palat.
The Rangers closed within a goal 29 seconds later when right winger Jesper Fast scored his second goal of the game to make it 4-3.
The Lightning started the three-goal flurry with a game-tying goal on a power play with 9:28 left in the second. Johnson fed a perfect entry pass to Palat for his fifth goal of the playoffs.
Tampa Bay struck again for the lead with 6:43 left in the second. Defenseman Victor Hedman took the puck behind the net and fed Palat, who fired a centering pass to Johnson.
The Lightning kept momentum, taking a 4-2 lead on a goal by center Alex Killorn, who waited on a potential pass to winger Steven Stamkos and then flicked the puck in himself for his sixth goal of the playoffs.
Tampa Bay, coming off a 6-2 win on Monday to even the series 1-1, stumbled out of the gate, drawing a penalty just 26 seconds into the game when center Cedric Paquette was called for roughing. New York capitalized on the ensuing power play, taking a 1-0 lead with 18:58 left in the opening period on center Derick Brassard's sixth goal of the playoffs, matching the team lead.
Brassard beat Bishop to the top left corner of the net.
New York struck again in the first period on a breakaway as Fast beat Bishop for a 2-0 lead with 10:05 left in the first.
Tampa Bay quickly answered, however, pulling within 2-1 with 8:53 in the first when Stamkos, on a two-on-one, passed to Killorn, whose shot on goal bounced off Lundqvist and right to Stamkos, who fired in the rebound for his fifth goal of the playoffs.
NOTES: Tampa Bay continues to keep some of its youngest players off the ice. LW Jonathan Drouin and C Vladislav Namestnikov were healthy scratches as they have been most of the playoffs. New York kept its same lineup, with C Mats Zuccarello and D Matt Hunwick as healthy scratches. ... Including the regular season, New York has tallied a power-play goal in four of its last five games, and 12 of its last 22 games.