Rangers eliminated from playoffs in Game 6 loss against Tampa Bay Lightning
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TAMPA, Fla. -- Steven Stamkos scored two goals and the two-time defending champion Tampa Bay Lightning are headed to the Stanley Cup Final for the third straight year after beating the New York Rangers 2-1 in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference final on Saturday night.
Stamkos put the Lightning ahead for good in the third period just 21 seconds after New York's Frank Vatrano scored on the power play with the Lightning captain in the penalty box for holding.
Nikita Kucherov and Ondrej Palat assisted on the winner with 6 1/2 minutes left, with the puck deflecting off Stamkos' knee into the net after Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin stopped the initial shot. Stamkos also scored on a wrist shot from the top of the right circle midway through the second period.
Andrei Vasilevskiy finished with 20 saves for the Lightning, who won the series 4-2 — rattling off four straight victories after losing the first two games on the road — to advance to the Stanley Cup Final against the Colorado Avalanche.
Game 1 is Wednesday night in Denver.
The Lightning are the first team to make three consecutive appearances in the Cup Final since Edmonton did it from 1983-85. They are trying to become the first to win three straight championships since the New York Islanders claimed four in a row from 1980-83.
The Rangers, down 3-2 in a series for the third straight round, were 5-0 in elimination games this postseason before Saturday night.
The only teams to win six or more elimination games in a single postseason were the 1975 New York Islanders (eight), 2014 Los Angeles Kings (seven) and 2003 Minnesota Wild (six).
The Rangers dropped three of the first four games before winning three straight elimination games to beat the Pittsburgh Penguins in the opening round. They lost the first two on the road at Carolina before rebounding to oust the Hurricanes in seven games to reach the East final.
It was a totally different story Saturday night, with the Lightning limiting New York's scoring opportunities while outshooting the Rangers 31-21.
Vasilevskiy went long stretches without being tested. He faced just seven shots in the opening period, six in the second and eight in the third.
Shesterkin, meanwhile, stopped 29 of 31 shots and made big save after big save to give New York a chance.
NOTES: The Lightning played again without forward Brayden Point, who's missed 10 games since suffering a lower body injury during Tampa Bay's Game 7 victory over Toronto in the first round. He was the NHL's leading goal scorer the previous two postseasons. ... Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman exited in the second period after appearing to be elbowed in the head by New York's Alexis Lafreniere. He returned at the start of the third period.
Nervous Rangers fans head to MSG for Game 6 watch party
As CBS2's Natalie Duddridge reports, there was a nervous energy at a Game 6 watch party at Madison Square Garden on Sunday.
Fans were staying positive, wearing their lucky jerseys and hats. All the superstitions were on display.
The Rangers will have to win not only Game 6, but also Game 7 to have any hope of playing in the Stanley Cup Final.
The Tampa Bay Lightning are back-to-back champions, so they have the experiences, but the Rangers have overcome great odds this season. They faced elimination in the last two series, down 3-2, and came back from that.
Rangers fans say they have their not-so-secret weapon, Igor Shesterkin, one of the best goaltenders in the league, who plays some of his best hockey under pressure.
"Game 6, I'm nervous. I think it's gonna come back home to the Garden. I've been here since I was 2 months old, playoff games and all. It's a great experience. There's nothing in the world like Madison Square Garden during playoff hockey, and it's just an experience to be here," Rangers fan Michael Mitrione said.
"Rangers gotta win it tonight. I really think they got one more win left in them," Rangers fan Ella Blum said.
The last time the Rangers reached the Stanley Cup Final was 2014, but they lost to the Los Angeles Kings.
If the Rangers win Saturday, they would go on to play Game 7 at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday, and the winner of that game would face the Colorado Avalanche.
But fans say let's not get ahead of ourselves and let's focus on a win in Game 6.
Lightning say it won't be easy to dispatch resilient Rangers
The Tampa Bay Lightning know what type of effort it will take to finish off the New York Rangers.
The two-time defending champions are one win away from a third straight trip to the Stanley Cup Final, where they would continue their bid to become the first team in 40 years to win three consecutive NHL titles.
The Rangers, down 3-2 to the Lightning in the Eastern Conference final, have been especially resilient this postseason.
In addition to overcoming a 3-2 playoff series deficit to eliminate the Pittsburgh Penguins in the opening round, New York rebounded from losing the first two games to Carolina in the second round to oust the Hurricanes in seven games.
Game 6 of the East final is Saturday night at Amalie Arena. The Lightning won Games 3 and 4 on home after dropping the first two on the road.
"We've been down 3-2 every series so far, so we're going to have to have a level of desperation," Rangers forward Andrew Copp said.
"The confidence of doing it before is bigger and better, having to do it again there's belief in the room. ... We're playing pretty good, and it's a really, really tight series," Copp added. "We just got to make that extra play at the end of the game to be the difference."
Since being outscored 9-4 in the first two games at Madison Square Garden, Tampa Bay has won three straight to move to the brink of having a shot at the NHL's first three-peat since the New York Islanders won four straight championships from 1980-83.
Game 7, if necessary, will be Tuesday night in New York.
The Lightning, who've won 10 consecutive series dating to the start of the 2020 postseason, aren't taking anything for granted.
"We obviously know the fourth one in the hardest one to win. Our mindset has got to be the same as the last three games," veteran Lightning forward Pat Maroon said.
"We know what's at stake. We don't take games off," Tampa Bay's Nick Paul added. "(New York) is a really good team. You take a night off, they're going to take it over. ... There's no letting off the gas."
The Rangers are 5-0 this postseason when facing elimination.
They're 2-7 on the road in the playoffs, but did win Game 6 at Pittsburgh to even that series before prevailing in Game 7 at Carolina to reach the East final.
"We don't care when we win it, we just want to win it," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said.
"We have a great opportunity (Saturday night) to do that. ... But just because it's an elimination game, it doesn't mean we are going to knock them out," Cooper added. "If we don't bring our best, it'll be trouble for us because I know the Rangers will bring their best."
Rangers coach Gerard Gallant is counting it.
"It'll be a battle. They're a good hockey team, that's why they're the Stanley Cup champs," Gallant said. "We have to go in there, play our best game ... win a game and give us a chance for a Game 7 back home."