Lightning-Rangers Game 3 report card: Shining stars
Salvation, thy name is Nikita Kucherov.
Also, Victor Hedman, Steven Stamkos and Andrei Vasilevskiy.
Ondrej Palat scored the winning goal, and the Lightning’s stars shined brightest when their hopes seemed the most dim in a 3-2 victory over the Rangers in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference final Sunday at Amalie Arena.
In danger of falling three games behind and with their hopes for a third straight Stanley Cup championship seemingly vanishing before their eyes, Tampa Bay’s leading lights showed the way back into the series.
It started with Kucherov, the most dangerous player on the ice. He was flying from the start, engaged physically, and got the Lightning on the scoreboard with a power-play goal midway through the second period. He set up two other goals, including Palat’s winner with 42 seconds remaining with a beautiful backhand pass from the slot.
Hedman lunged to break up a Rangers 2-on-1 and made a sprawling block on an Artemi Panarin shot from the right circle. That was just on defense. He also had five shots on goal, picked up the primary assist on Kucherov’s goal and made the pass into the slot that Kucherov one-timed to Palat.
Stamkos? All the captain did was give the Lightning new life with a one-timer from the left circle just over a minute into the final period to tie the score at 2. He also had the secondary assist on Kucherov’s goal.
Vasilevskiy, outshone by opposing goaltender Igor Shesterkin in the first two games, stopped 28 of 30 shots in his best performance of the series. He was at his most magnificent when he stopped Barclay Goodrow, Tyler Motte and Ryan Reaves on successive shots from point-blank range in the first period.
Brilliant.
Grade: A-plus
Here’s how we graded the rest of the Lightning’s performance in Game 3:
Pally on the spot
Whether or not you consider him a star, as teammate Pat Maroon made it clear he does, there’s no disputing that Palat is the least-heralded player on his own line, playing alongside Stamkos and Kucherov.
He plays a strong two-way game and does the little things that allow his linemates to shine, whether it’s forcing turnovers, retrieving pucks, finishing checks or taking hits to let his teammates to make a play.
But he also has made a career of coming up big for his team in the biggest moments.
His goal was the 10th game-winning goal of his career in the playoffs, passing Tyler Johnson for most in Lightning history. Only four active NHL players (Joe Pavelski, Evgeni Malkin, Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane) have more.
The goal also was Palat’s sixth of the 2022 postseason, tying Kucherov and Stamkos for most on the Lightning.
He’s a star in everything but name.
Grade: A
Keeping it simple
The Lightning simplified their game, getting pucks in deep, winning battles, spending time in the offensive zone and putting shots on the net. They also made contact with Shesterkin at seemingly every opportunity.
They took 83 total shots, getting 51 on goal and keeping Shesterkin busier than at any time in the series. They crowded the Vezina Trophy finalist, took away his eyes and made life so miserable for him that his coach said after the game he plans to talk to the league about it.
At times, they took matters a bit too far, though Lightning coach Jon Cooper said afterward the plan wasn’t to run at Shesterkin.
Corey Perry was penalized for slashing after getting his stick into Shesterkin’s mask, a call the goaltender helped sell. Riley Nash, playing for the first time this postseason, was penalized for interfering with Shesterkin while crashing the net.
Both penalties led to power-play goals for the Rangers.
The net-front presence was great. The penalties? Not so much.
Grade: B
Key kill
The Lightning power play was opportunistic, scoring on two of four chances with the man-advantage to get Tampa Bay back into the game.
But the penalty kill came up big at a pivotal point, erasing a four-minute major penalty after Kucherov was called for high-sticking Mika Zibanejad with just over nine minutes remaining in the game.
The penalty killers did a good job of crowding the Rangers, forcing some mishandles and the puck to leave the zone. Nick Paul nearly had a shorthanded scoring opportunity, and Alex Killorn drew a tripping penalty after the puck got past Jacob Trouba at the blue line and Killorn beat him to the puck.
The result was two minutes of four-on-four play, followed by 27 seconds of New York power-play time, taking much of the pressure off the Tampa Bay penalty-kill unit and the punch out of the Rangers’ power play.
Huge, at that point in the game.
Grade: A
Second to none
The Lightning’s second line was outstanding. Matched up against Zibanejad’s line, the Rangers’ most effective in the series, Anthony Cirelli, Killorn and Brandon Hagel spent a ton of time in the offensive zone, forcing Zibanejad, Chris Kreider and Frank Vatrano to spend more time playing defense.
The line put constant pressure on the Rangers, working the boards, winning puck battles, driving the net and getting pucks to the crease. The line set the tone in the pivotal third period, with Cirelli drawing a Trouba holding penalty that led to Stamkos’ tying goal.
The trio combined for 14 shots on goal, six hits and four takeaways.
That’s a lot for any line to handle.
Grade: A
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