Tampa Bay showed the champions’ gestures as the team rose from two goals to a 3-2 win. The Rangers will still lead the final series 2-1 of the Eastern Conference.
Tampa Bay celebrated the opening win of the match series in front of its home crowd. Zumawire / MVphotos
If there are two of the best goalkeepers in the world facing each other, it is not easy to dust the net.
It was no surprise, then, that the Amalie Arena scoreboard had 0-0 after the opening round, even though both Tampa and Rangers managed to create goals.
In the second installment Andrei Vasilevski finally had to surrender when Artemi Panarin and Adam Fox played with superiority one timer plot To Mika Zibanejad. The Swede put the rubber in the front corner at a speed of 151 kilometers per hour: 0-1.
A couple of minutes later the same man bombed from the same place, and Chris Kreider shovels the front of the goal to repeat the puck behind Vasilievsky’s back: 0-2.
The best player in the game, Tampa Superstar Nikita Kucherov, however, brought the hosts into the game with a superior cabinet a minute later. Russian one timer slipped from a small angle past Igor Šestjorkinin.
The Kid Line
Also To Kaapo Kako opened one excellent finish in the second installment. The Turku resident was able to run halfway through, but the inefficiency familiar from previous periods bothered him.
Kakko attacked in the familiar Rangers triple chain, ”The Kid Line“, Alexis Lafrenièren and Filip Chytilin with.
The trio stayed well on the puck and put a long pressure on Tampa’s head a few times. However, despite a couple of goals, the chain did not score goals.
Although Kakko cooled as a winger in the chain, he often acted as an “assistant center” and a assuring player in the fight.
– Kaapo Kakko is now a reliable, winning player, a hockey expert Ville Nieminen crystallized in Viaplay’s studio on the second break.
“Hard to win”
At the start of the third installment, Tampa once again gained the upper hand, and Corey Perry bait the puck into the second wave Steven Stamkosin to the tray. The Lord captain slammed the monk’s bar at a rate of less than 138 kilometers per hour in the warmth, and the numbers on the scoreboard changed to 2–2.
After the draw, Tampa continued to grind, which was rewarded just 41.6 seconds before the end of the third set. Ondrej Palat Kucherov and Victor Hedmanin excellent presentation: 3–2.
The victory can be considered somewhat deserved, as Tampa won 51-30 shots per goal and 4.62-3.48.
– It is difficult to win a team that refuses to lose, Nieminen summed up Tampa’s performance after the game.
The Rangers now lead the final series of the Eastern Conference 2-1. The fourth leg of the match series will be played on the night between Tuesday and Wednesday. The match starts at 3.00 Finnish time.