Palat Scores Late to Take Game 3 for Lightning
The Lightning headed home down 0-2 in this best-of-7 series against the Rangers. The first period showcased more of what we expected from this series - more competitive, less dominance by one team.
Ryan Strome was injured early in the second period. He received a small shove from Ondrej Palat, and appeared to hyperextend his knee. He limped back to the room. Strome attempted to return later in the period, but went back down the hallway and did not return.
Lightning forward Corey Perry appeared to make contact with Igor Shesterkin. Shesterkin sold the call by throwing his head back and his stick into the air. Perry got called for goaltender interference.
Mika Zibanejad continued his hot streak and scored on the ensuing powerplay.
Riley Nash, who is playing his first playoff game this season, fell into Shesterkin on the following shift. The officials called a consecutive goalie interference minor, which was much more merited than the first.
Chris Kreider scored on the powerplay following the second penalty.
The Lightning didn't wait long to strike back. Nikita Kucherov scored on the powerplay to bring the score to 2-1 going into the second intermission.
Steven Stamkos tied the game at 2 with a bomb on the powerplay.
Rangers' forward Frank Vatrano was called for goaltender interference on this play.
Barclay Goodrow briefly went back to the locker room after blocking a 98mph slapshot from Victor Hedman. Goodrow returned to the game without missing a shift.
With less than one minute remaining in regulation, Palat scored on a one- touch pass from Kucherov to put the Bolts up 3-2.
The Bolts held on to win at home and bring the series to 2-1 Rangers. Both netminders were outstanding. Shesterkin made 48 saves on 51 shots for a .941 save percentage. His counterpart, Andrei Vasilevskiy, made 28 saves on 30 shots for a .933 save percentage.
Game 4 will be in Tampa on Tuesday night at 8pm.
| G | A | PTS | ||
| Zachary Werenski | 2 | 3 | 5 | |
| Sean Monahan | 1 | 3 | 4 | |
| Jesper Bratt | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Frederick Gaudreau | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Jack Hughes | - | 3 | 3 | |
| Nikita Kucherov | - | 3 | 3 | |
| Mackenzie Weegar | - | 3 | 3 | |
| Kent Johnson | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Alexander Wennberg | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Mitchell Chaffee | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Anthony Cirelli | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Matthew Coronato | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Marcus Foligno | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Nick Foligno | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Conor Geekie | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Brandon Hagel | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Stefan Noesen | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Corey Perry | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Igor Sharangovich | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Dmitry Voronkov | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Complete stats | ||||
| STANDINGS 2024-2025 | ||||||
TOP 10 | GP | W | L | OL | PTS | |
Jets | 19 | 16 | 3 | - | 32 | |
Wild | 19 | 13 | 3 | 3 | 29 | |
Hurricanes | 19 | 14 | 5 | - | 28 | |
Devils | 22 | 13 | 7 | 2 | 28 | |
Capitals | 19 | 13 | 5 | 1 | 27 | |
Golden Knights | 20 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 26 | |
Maple Leafs | 20 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 26 | |
Rangers | 18 | 12 | 5 | 1 | 25 | |
Panthers | 20 | 12 | 7 | 1 | 25 | |
Flames | 20 | 11 | 6 | 3 | 25 | |
| Conference | Cumulative | ||||||