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Stanley Cup Playoffs Day 33: Last minute goal from Ondrej Palat gives Tampa Bay Lightning Game 3 win

Scott Maxwell
Scott Maxwell(scotmaxw)
Jun 5, 2022, 18:13 EDT
Stanley Cup Playoffs Day 33: Last minute goal from Ondrej Palat gives Tampa Bay Lightning Game 3 win
Credit: © Kim Klement

That might have been one of the most exciting games of the playoffs. There were chances back-and-forth, lots of power play opportunities (and goals), and we had a late game winner from Ondrej Palat, as the Tampa Bay Lightning took Game 3 in a 3-2 win.

While Igor Shesterkin has been dominant all series, Andrei Vasilevskiy was finally up to the task in what was a goalie showdown in the first period. While both the Lightning and Rangers were getting their fair share of chances, they were coming in different ways. The Lightning got a lot of their early chances off the rush, while the Rangers were generating it through sustained pressure, until a Nikita Kucherov high-stick call put the Rangers on the period’s only power play.

After that, the strategies almost switched, as the Rangers started getting chances off the rush while the Lightning got it from sustained pressure. Both goalies stood tall amidst the chaos in the first period, and the defense tried their best to make life easier for them.

The drama continued into the second period. Early in the frame, Ryan Strome left the game after what seemed like an awkward tweak after an Ondrej Palat cross-check. There wasn’t a call on the play, and while Strome did return later in the period, he did not finish the game.

That said, the referees used their whistles a lot more in the second period. We even saw 3-on-3 hockey for 13 seconds after Ryan Lindgren and Ross Colton went off during a scrum, Mika Zibanejad was called for interference, and, after the Lightning had some chances on the power play, Corey Perry got a penalty after hitting Shesterkin in the head with his stick.

The Rangers made sure to make Perry pay for attempting to hurt Shesterkin on the ensuing power play. They kept a sustained pressure with the man advantage, and after Zibanejad’s first one timer went wide, Artemi Panarin corralled the rebound, sent it up to Adam Fox, who then set up Zibanejad for another one-timer, and he buried it this time to give the Rangers the 1-0 lead.

Tampa Bay didn’t seem to learn their lesson either. They were hungry to tie it, but Riley Nash got a bit too hungry, as he also bumped into Shesterkin while trying to bury a 2-on-1 attempt from Mikhail Sergachev.

And just like last time, the Rangers didn’t let it go unpunished. Panarin set up Zibanejad again, but while Vasilevskiy made the initial stop this time, Chris Kreider was ready for the rebound in front of the net, and he buried it to give the Rangers a 2-0 lead, and also tie a New York Rangers franchise record for post season goals.

But the Lightning weren’t going to go away quietly. After Jacob Trouba went to the box for interference, this time it was the Lightning’s big trio of Hedman, Kucherov, and Steven Stamkos that were making passing plays. After they made the Rangers guess constantly who was shooting while dishing it around, it was Kucherov who inevitably buried it to make it 2-1.

While that was it for goals in the second period, the excitement didn’t stop there. Both teams exchanged chances, but the Lightning seemed to be getting more as they were pressuring for that tying goal. Thankfully for the Rangers, Shesterkin came to play, and by the end of the second, he had already turned aside 32 of 33 shots.

However, the Lightning got what they were looking for early in the third. After Trouba went to the box for another penalty, the Lightning got it done on the power play again, as a nice set up from Perry entering the zone gave Stamkos the opportunity for his signature one-timer, and he made no mistake to tie the game.

Then it was the Rangers turn to take a run at the other team’s goalie, as Frank Vatrano took out both Vasilevskiy and the net, and the Lightning got another power play.

But, the Rangers showed resiliency to keep the game tied. No one displayed that better than Barclay Goodrow, who sacrificed the body to block a shot. He left to the dressing room immediately, but returned shortly after.

Kucherov had a costly turnover in Game 2 that lead to the eventual game winner for the Rangers, and he just about had another one of those moments in Game 3. He took another high-sticking penalty on Zibanejad, and while it did help slow down a 2-on-1 chance for the Rangers, it was called a double minor and put New York on the power play for four minutes.

It’s safe to say that Lightning fans forgave Kucherov for the play though, as he more than made up for it late in the third. He received a Hedman pass in the middle of the ice, and made a sneaky backhand pass to set up Palat, who fired it past Shesterkin to give the Lightning a 3-2 lead with just 42 seconds to go in the game.

The Rangers had a couple chances, but couldn’t bury anything in the limited time they had, and the Lightning completed the comeback from down 2-0 to win 3-2, and start their comeback from down 2-0 in the series, making it 2-1.

While the Rangers have done an excellent job of keeping up with the Lightning in this series despite their poor play in the first two rounds, this game was all Tampa Bay after the Rangers went up 2-0. The Bolts outshot New York 51-30, and add even strength controlled the play with 63.54% of the shot attempts and 68.58% of the expected goals. Kucherov led the way for the Lightning in Game 3, contributing to all three of the Lightning’s goals in the game.

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