After falling behind midway through the game, the Lightning showed the poise of a two-time defending champion. They rallied for another late victory to move a win away from returning to the Stanley Cup Final.

Ondrej Palat scored on a deflection with 1:50 remaining to break a tie and lead the Lightning to a 3-1 victory over the Rangers on Thursday night for a 3-2 lead in the Eastern Conference final.

“We just stayed patient,” Tampa Bay captain Steven Stamkos said. "We knew it would be a challenge in this atmosphere. We knew it would be a low-scoring grinding game. We continued our game plan and got rewarded.”