Rangers 5, Lightning 1
TAMPA, Fla. -- The New York Rangers bounced back from an overtime loss to even the Eastern Conference finals at 2-2, getting a strong night from goalie Henrik Lundqvist -- 38 saves -- in a 5-1 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Friday night at Amalie Arena.
New York was outshot by a 39-24 margin, but pulled away with two goals in a span of 1:48 late in the second period, with Lundqvist returning to form after giving up six goals in each of the last two losses.
The series returns to Madison Square Garden, with Game 5 on Sunday starting a best-of-three finish.
The Rangers got long-awaited goals from two of their biggest stars, with left-winger Rick Nash opening the scoring, and longtime Lightning star Marty St. Louis punctuating the win with his first goal of the playoffs just 28 seconds after he took a high-stick to the head to set up a Rangers power play in the third period. Nash added a second goal late in the third, poking a rebound past goalie Ben Bishop, who stopped just 19 of the first 24 shots he faced.
After combining for 11 goals in Wednesday's Game 3, the Rangers and Lightning had a more restrained start, scoreless until New York jumped ahead with 2:42 left in the opening period on Nash's third goal of the playoffs. Nash came in wide and poked the puck between the far post and Bishop for the early lead.
Tampa Bay controlled much of the second period, holding the Rangers to one shot in the first 10 minutes, and the Lightning tied the game with 8:30 left on center Steven Stamkos' sixth goal of the playoffs and his fifth in the last six games.
Stamkos' goal tied the game, but it also seemed to spark the Rangers. Center Chris Kreider scored his seventh of the playoffs on a rebound of a shot by defenseman Kevin Klein, and with 2:56 left in the period, defenseman Keith Yandle got his first goal of the playoffs, firing a shot that would have been well wide had it not caromed off the leg of Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman and in for a 3-1 lead.
NOTES: Lightning D Mark Barberio made his playoff debut Friday night, stepping in for Matthew Carle, who did not dress with an undisclosed injury. Carle was injured on New York's second goal Wednesday and did not return to the game. ... Tampa Bay's power play has driven their strong playoff surge, with goals in five of the last seven games, going 12-for-28 (43 percent) during that span. ... Before Wednesday night's 6-5 Lightning win, NHL teams scoring five or more goals in playoff games had been 38-1 in the last two seasons and 63-2 in the last four. ... The Rangers had won 30 straight playoff games when scoring five or more goals, a span that covers more than 30 years, going back to April 1985.