TAMPA — For all the growth the Lightning has shown throughout this playoff run, one key aspect it hasn't completely figured out is how to close out a series.
It took the Lightning three games to finish off the Canadiens in the Eastern Conference semifinals. And now after uncharacteristically unraveling in Tuesday's 7-3 loss to the Rangers in Game 6 of the conference final, Tampa Bay must head back to New York for a winner-take-all Game 7 on Friday night at Madison Square Garden.
"Our team, as a group, we've never been this far before," coach Jon Cooper said. "It's just more lessons learned.
"Sometimes you have to go to the school of hard knocks to find out what works and what doesn't. We've got a young group. We've played some unreal hockey here to get us this far. We've shown if we're not going to play the proper way, a really, really good hockey team is going to beat you."
The Rangers are also a battle-tested, resilient team, 15-3 in elimination games since 2012 (and 7-0 all time at home in Game 7s). They took a two-goal first-period lead on the Lightning, which was within one heading into the third. But that's when Tampa Bay lost its way — and the game — giving up three goals in four minutes.
The Rangers' Derick Brassard had a hat trick. If it weren't for two third-period goals by the Lightning's Nikita Kucherov, the score would have been even more lopsided.
"When they got that third (goal), we kind of fell apart," Lightning captain Steven Stamkos said. "We didn't play the game the right way, and we didn't get rewarded."
"Once you stop thinking about your own net," goalie Ben Bishop said, "that's what can happen."
Cooper said this was a lot like Game 4 against Montreal, when the Lightning lost 6-2 in its first chance to eliminate the Canadiens after taking a 3-0 series lead. Tampa Bay, coming off arguably its best defensive performance in Sunday's Game 5 against the Rangers, came unglued in the third, giving up more scoring chances in a 7- to 8-minute span than it did in all Game 5.
Cooper said there were a few too many "panic plays" and "then we stopped playing (defense)."
"For whatever reason, we didn't bring it in the third," Stamkos said." We were pressing a little too much to try to tie it up."
The Rangers' third goal was the backbreaker; it seemed to take the wind out of the Lightning's sails.
A turnover by Stamkos in the offensive zone led to a Rangers two-on-one with Rick Nash and J.T. Miller. Bishop stopped the original shot, but Alex Killorn ran into the Lightning goaltender. Bishop was sprawled out and his back turned to the play when he made a spectacular stop on Brassard. But Bishop lost track of the puck, and Brassard fed Miller in front for the goal.
"I didn't know where the puck was," Bishop said. "I sat up, and it was in the net. Just unfortunate."
Bishop was pulled midway through the third after allowing five goals for the third time in four games. Rangers veteran Henrik Lundqvist was stellar, living up to his big-game reputation with 36 saves.
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Explore all your optionsNow the Lightning has to head to New York, where it has won four of its past five games. But the stakes have never been higher. And unlike the Lightning, many Rangers have been there before, in last year's Stanley Cup final.
"No time to sulk about it," Stamkos said. "We got beat. There's a Game 7. We have to respond."
Cooper believes in his team.
"We're going to respond the same way we have every time our backs are against the wall," Cooper said. "You've watched it happen all year. You know how it'll go."
Rangers | 2 | 0 | 5 | 7 |
Lightning | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
First Period—1, N.Y. Rangers, Brassard 7 (Miller, D.Boyle), 3:36. 2, N.Y. Rangers, Yandle 2 (Brassard, Nash), 15:30. 3, Tampa Bay, Callahan 1 (Stralman, Bishop), 17:20 (pp). Penalties—Staal, NYR (holding stick), 13:03; Kreider, NYR (cross-checking), 17:00; Stepan, NYR (cross-checking), 17:00; Stamkos, TB (cross-checking), 17:00.
Second Period—None. Penalties—Kucherov, TB (hooking), 6:35; Morrow, TB (hooking), 17:20.
Third Period—4, N.Y. Rangers, Miller 1 (Brassard, Nash), 3:02. 5, N.Y. Rangers, Sheppard 1 (Moore, Glass), 6:00. 6, N.Y. Rangers, Brassard 8 (Miller, Nash), 7:14. 7, Tampa Bay, Kucherov 8 (Johnson), 7:50. 8, N.Y. Rangers, Nash 5 (Yandle, Miller), 10:21 (pp). 9, Tampa Bay, Kucherov 9 (Johnson, Nesterov), 13:21. 10, N.Y. Rangers, Brassard 9, 18:19 (en). Penalties—Nesterov, TB (slashing), 9:08; Girardi, NYR (delay of game), 15:36. Shots on Goal—N.Y. Rangers 7-11-16—34. Tampa Bay 16-13-10—39. Power-play opportunities—N.Y. Rangers 1 of 3; Tampa Bay 1 of 3. Goalies—N.Y. Rangers, Lundqvist 11-7-0 (39 shots-36 saves). Tampa Bay, Bishop 11-8-0 (26-21), Vasilevskiy (7:14 third, 7-6). A—19,204 (19,204). T—2:40.