The Tampa Bay Lightning are off to the Stanley Cup Final with the chance to win a third consecutive championship after Saturday’s 2-1 home victory over the New York Rangers to clinch the Eastern Conference finals.
All they have to do is beat a Colorado Avalanche team that has won 12 of 14 playoff games while storming through to the championship round.
“Certainly the toughest test we’re going to face,” Lightning captain Steven Stamkos said immediately after dispatching the Rangers. “They’re arguably the best team in the league, probably a team we thought we were going to play the last couple of years, to be honest. They’ve been right there and finally broken through. They’re an elite team and we’re going to have a huge challenge.”
The Stanley Cup Final begins Wednesday in Denver.
The Lightning, who trailed the best-of-seven series 2-0, won four straight games over the Rangers to claim an 11th consecutive playoff series, the third-longest run in NHL history.
Stamkos showed he’s up to any challenge by scoring twice in the series-clinching victory, including the game-winning goal just 21 seconds after New York’s Frank Vatrano tied the game in the third period.
Stamkos — who was in the penalty box when Vatrano scored on the power play — was denied when he fired a shot off the rush. But he headed to the net and the rebound banked off his body and into the cage for his ninth goal of the playoffs with 6:32 remaining in regulation. It marked the 41st playoff tally of his career.
Goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy made 20 saves in backstopping his team to a seventh consecutive home victory.
The Lightning are the first team to reach the Cup Final in three consecutive seasons since the Edmonton Oilers in 1983-85.
“I don’t think a lot of people realize how hard it is to do what we’re doing right now. There’s still some battle and we have it left in us,” Stamkos said.
Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin made 29 saves in a brilliant performance, but it wasn’t enough to extend the series they appeared to control after winning the first two games.
“It’s hard right now, but we played well,” coach Gerard Gallant said. “We battled hard, had a chance to win in all of those games, but they found a way to get the big goal at the big time. I’m proud of our guys.”
The Lightning controlled play from the drop of the puck. They finally solved Shesterkin just past the midway point of the second period when Stamkos raced down the right wing and converted a wrist shot from beyond the top of the right circle.
Vatrano’s power-play goal at 13:07 of the third period tied the game. After a won face-off in Tampa Bay territory, Vatrano unloaded a one-timer from the point for his fifth goal of the playoffs.
Those hopes of extending the series were dashed in the blink of an eye.
“I don’t know what to say. I don’t want it to be over,” Rangers forward Mika Zibanejad said.
–Field Level Media
