The Tampa Bay Lightning struck like lightning — and did so late — to take Game 5 of the NHL Eastern Conference Finals against the Rangers on Wednesday night
Ondrej Palat scored with less than two minutes remaining and Brandon Hagel added an empty-netter less than a minute later as the Lightning won 3-1 and took a 3-2 lead in the conference finals.
Andrei Vasilevskiy made 24 saves for Tampa, while Igor Shesterkin had 24 stops for New York.
The Lightning have now won three straight and can oust the Rangers in Game 6 in Tampa Bay on Saturday night. The Colorado Avalanche eliminated Edmonton in four games to represent the Western Conference in the Stanley Cup Finals.
