Against Igor Shesterkin, Tampa acted rudely this time – and even dirty in places. This tactic did not bring results: instead, the keeper earned three removals on himself, two of which the Blueshirts converted.

Then the “lightning” rebuilt, focusing on attacking actions, and here Nikita Kucherov showed himself in all his glory. Two goals and a brilliant pass from the Russian brought Tampa the most important victory.

Shesterkin is the main problem of “Tampa”

Shesterkin became the main character in the Eastern Conference Finals. The Russian keeper is a real headache for the Tampa hockey players, and the Lightning cannot get rid of it. It took the goaltender the fewest games in Rangers history to reach 10 playoff wins. And his statistics before the third match of the series is impressive – 540 saves in the current Stanley Cup draw, and six wins in the last seven meetings.

In search of the key to the Shesterkin gate, the Tampa hockey players decided not to exaggerate and chose the most straightforward tactic – to physically influence the keeper. The Lightning jumped on the Russian and hit him with a club, but, fortunately, Shesterkin escaped injury – but Tampa got problems.

Photo: © REUTERS / Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Hunting for Shesterkin

The Lightning have only lost five times in 0-2 series history, and only once did Tampa manage to bounce back: in the 2002/03 Stanley Cup season, the team made a comeback in the confrontation with Washington. The statistics for the entire existence of the Tampa Fans League are not encouraging. Yielding with such a score in the conference finals, only 7% of the teams managed to go further!

But Tampa, it seems, these disappointing numbers were not particularly worried. The third match of the series “lightning” started calmly, not risking in attack. On defense, the team suffered from the same mistakes that plagued it throughout the Stanley Cup season. So, in the middle of the first period, Kucherov lost the puck and immediately ran to catch up with Artemy Panarin, who rushed to the counterattack. The Tampa leader failed to stop the compatriot according to the rules: Kucherov hit Panarin in the face with a club and got sent off.

The Rangers played this majority terribly, without creating a single worthwhile moment at the gates of Andrei Vasilevsky. But as soon as the teams began to play in equal compositions, Tampa had a great chance to open an account in the match. Kucherov left the penalty box, immediately got the puck and ran one on one with Shesterkin, but the keeper could not be beaten. The Rangers made several return attacks and were close to taking the lead. But Vasilevsky did not lag behind his compatriot and kept the gate dry. The heroes of the first period, which turned out to be goalless for the first time in this series, were the goalkeepers: Shesterkin scored 15 saves, Vasilevsky – 12.

Photo: © REUTERS / Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

To break the Rangers’ goaltending streak, the Tampa players decided to take a drastic step. At the beginning of the second period, Lightning striker Ross Colton delivered an accented blow with a club on Shesterkin’s leg. The reaction from the “blue shirts” was not long in coming: the hockey players immediately attacked the offender of their keeper. Ryan Lindgren showed himself the brightest in the fight – for which he went along with Colton to the penalty box.

But the teams did not have to play in the 4 on 4 format for a long time: Rangers player Mika Zibanejad teamed up with Lindgren in the penalty box. The obtained numerical advantage of “Tampa” could not be realized, and the players began to lose their nerves. Corey Perry could not outplay Shesterkin and in retaliation hit the goalkeeper with a stick on the head. Zibanejad, who came out of the penalty box, punished Tampa for rudeness: the forward sent the puck into Vasilevsky’s goal with one touch.

On this “lightning” they did not calm down, and Shesterkin got it again. This time, Riley Nash knocked the Russian down at speed. The Rangers again managed to take revenge in a sporting way: Chris Kreider increased the advantage with the transfer of Zibanejad and Panarin.

Comeback named after Kucherov

Tampa, however, showed in a minute that they were also working out the game in the majority in training: Kucherov reduced the gap with a powerful one-touch throw. The abandoned puck gave Tampa an offensive momentum. The Lightning locked the opponent in the zone and created several dangerous chances, but they failed to upset Shesterkin for the second time: the keeper had 17 out of 18 saved shots.

In the final 20 minutes, Tampa’s quantity finally turned into quality. First, Steven Stamkos converted the majority from Kucherov’s pass, and then – 42 seconds before the end of the period – the same Kucherov gave out a brilliant pass. Standing with his back to the goal, Nikita made a pass from an uncomfortable hand to Ondrej Palata, who completed the attack with a goal.

Photo: © REUTERS / Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

As a result, “Tampa” with a minimal advantage got the first victory in the series – 3:2. Shesterkin showed a brilliant game, repelling 48 shots out of 51. But this was not enough against the leader of the “lightning” Kucherov. The forward took part in every goal scored by the team and scored 3 (1+2) points.

NHL. Playoffs

Tampa Bay Lightning (Tampa) – New York Rangers (New York) – 3:2 (0:0, 1:2, 2:0)

Goals: Kucherov, 30:50 (bol.). Stamkos, 41:22 (bol.). Chambers, 59:18. — Zibanejad, 27:37 (bol.). Kreider, 29:44 (bol.).

Score in the series – 1:3