Two-time defending champions the Tampa Bay Lightning are on the brink of the Stanley Cup Final after recording a third straight win over the New York Rangers in a game which was capped by a mass brawl.
For the first time in this year’s Eastern Conference Final, the home team did not prevail as the Lightning earned a 3-1 win at Madison Square Garden on Thursday night to move 3-2 ahead in the series.
The visitors crucially got the go-ahead goal from Ondrej Palat after he turned in a shot from Russian defenseman Mikhail Sergachev late in the third period.
The assist was the second point of the game for Sergachev, who struck in the second period to level the score after the Rangers had taken the lead through Ryan Lindgren.
The 3-1 scoreline was rounded out by an empty net goal from Brandon Hagel inside the final minute, with winger Nikita Kucherov assisting.
Tampa’s Russian goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy made 24 saves while compatriot and opposite number Igor Shesterkin – a candidate for NHL MVP and Vezina Trophy for goalie of the season – finished with the same number for the Rangers but saw his team slip to a third successive loss.
The game was capped by unruly scenes as a mass brawl erupted involving practically all the players on the ice after Kucherov sent a shot goalward at the buzzer.
Notable scraps saw Bolts captain Steven Stamkos and Rangers forward Alexis Lafreniere drop the gloves and go at it, with each being penalized with fighting majors on the scoresheet.
Tampa Bay’s Erik Cernak and Rangers center Ryan Strome received two minutes each for roughing, while New York defenseman Adam Fox was sanctioned for slashing.
When the dust had settled, the Rangers found themselves on the brink for the third time in this season’s playoffs, having previously dug themselves out of a hole when 3-2 down against the Pittsburgh Penguins and Carolina Hurricanes.
This time, however, they will be forced to do so against two-time reigning champions the Lightning, who have rallied to recapture their form and momentum.
Game 6 takes place at the Amalie Arena in Tampa on Saturday, where the home team will be looking to book a shot at a third straight Stanley Cup title.
The winners of the series will meet the Colorado Avalanche, after they swept the Edmonton Oilers 4-0 in their Conference Final match-up.