NEW YORK (AP) — Ondrej Palat scored his second goal of the game with 1:50 remaining to break a tie and lead the Tampa Bay Lightning to a 3-1 victory over the New York Rangers on Thursday night for a 3-2 lead in the Eastern Conference final.
Brandon Hagel added an empty-netter with 59 seconds to seal the two-time defending champioin Lightning’s third straight win, the first by a road team in this series.
Andrei Vasilevskiy had 24 saves and Mikhail Sergachev provided Tampa Bay’s first goal.
Ryan Lindgren scored for New York, which had won eight straight at home. Igor Shesterkin finished with 24 saves.
Game 6 is Saturday night in Tampa, Florida.
Photo: Tampa Bay Lightning center Steven Stamkos (91) and New York Rangers left wing Alexis Lafrenière (13) fight at the end of Game 5 of the NHL Hockey Stanley Cup playoffs Eastern Conference Finals, Thursday, June 9, 2022, in New York (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)