First Period:
Second Period:
- Mika Zibanejad (10) (Power Play) Assists: Adam Fox (18), Artemi Panarin (9)
- Chris Kreider (10) (Power Play) Assists: Artemi Panarin (10), Mika Zibanejad (14)
- Nikita Kucherov (6) (Power Play) Assists: Victor Hedman (10), Steven Stamkos (6)
Third Period:
- Steven Stamkos (6) (Power Play) Assists: Corey Perry (3), Nikita Kucherov (13)
- Ondrej Palat (6) Assists: Victor Hedman (11), Nikita Kucherov (14)
Stats:
Adam Rotter:
- This was Tampa Bay. The Champs showed up today in a big way, but especially in the third period.
- The third period was domination. The Lightning played with major desperation knowing that their season was basically on the line in the third period and their big guys stepped up and now it seems like we will have a series.
- You wonder if Tampa played this way because they were at home, they knew their season was on the line or that it took two games for them to really knock off the rust? The taking two games to knock the rust off is what I think played a big role. Now Tampa is in a flow the same way the Rangers are and they got to come home and reset.
- Nikita Kucherov was an impact player, Victor Hedman was better, but most importantly, Andrei Vasilevskiy looked like himself. The Rangers best players were good as well, but unlike the first two games Tampa was finally able to match them.
- In general, the better team won tonight. The Lightning were better and deserved to win this game. In some ways this was the reverse of a bunch of the games against the Penguins. The Rangers went ahead tonight, instead of falling behind, and gave up the lead over the course of the game, instead of scoring to tie it and then they gave up the winner instead of scoring it.
- Even with all of that, the Rangers still looked like they were going to find a way to win with the 4-minute PP they were getting in the third. That PP was shaky at best and then Jacob Trouba knocked two minutes off of it and that was basically it.
- Overall the Rangers PP continued to be excellent and while most games are decided by special teams, this one was decided by the first team to score at even strength. At 5-on-5 the Rangers had a few chances, but they weren’t creating at the level that they did in the first two games. Again, that is to be expected as Tampa gets into the series and it very likely begins to tighten up.
- Tampa ramped up the physicality and especially around Igor Shesterkin and the net. The Lightning went over the line, got penalized and paid for it, but they are setting a tone that they aren’t afraid to be around the crease. These incidents don’t seem to faze Shesterkin, which is great, but the more times these happen the greater chance that one of them is going to injure him.
- There is considerable concern with Ryan Strome missing half the game with a lower-body injury. Barclay Goodrow moves up to fill that role, but there is also concern with Goodrow after he blocked another massive shot. Goodrow returned, but looked hampered, which is obviously to be expected. If the Rangers lose Strome for any amount of time it’s going to be a major factor on his line and on the PP. In normal circumstances you’d bump Filip Chytil up, but the Kid Line was pretty good again and it seems wrong to break them up.
- So in the end the Rangers still lead the series, but they can’t close it out in four. They need to get back to pushing offensively, forcing turnovers and, most importantly, stay out of the box. Tampa still has a very dangerous PP and that can definitely lead to momentum and I think that happened tonight. We’ve seen the Rangers bounce back, most importantly after Game 5 against Carolina, and we’ll see if they can do it on Tuesday. I do still wonder if this is going to follow the Carolina series pattern and each team will win at home and it will come down to Game 7.