TAMPA, Fla. — There's nothing like waiting until the last possible minute to finish something, and that's exactly what the Tampa Bay Lightning did in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals Sunday.
Nikita Kucherov fired a pass to Ondrej Palat with just 41 seconds to go and Palat called game with a shot right past New York Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin to give Tampa Bay a 3-2 victory.
PALAT CALLED GAME 😱
— NHL (@NHL) June 5, 2022
The @tblightning have come back to take Game 3! #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/ygY0Bf9wlf
While the Lightning weren't panicking, they were facing a 0-3 deficit if they couldn't pull off a win in Game 3 against the Rangers.
PHOTOS: Tampa Bay wins Game 3 over New York, 3-2
Lightning coach Jon Cooper cited poor puck management, as well as the lack of a sense of urgency in his team’s play, as factors contributing to Tampa Bay losing consecutive playoff games for the first time in three years.
The Rangers had won six of their last seven games while outscoring opponents 28-13 heading into Game 3. They had also gone on to win 11 of 13 series all-time after holding a 2-0 lead.
But now, with Tampa Bay's Game 3 victory, it looks like there could be a brand new series starting. If Tampa Bay can pull off a win at home in Game 4, it would even the series at 2-2 heading back to New York for Game 5.
