NEW YORK — Steven Stamkos set up Valtteri Filppula’s go-ahead goal and scored another, and the Tampa Bay Lightning pushed the New York Rangers to the brink of playoff elimination with 2-0 victory Sunday night in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals.
Ben Bishop, who gave up 10 goals in the previous two games, had 26 saves in posting his second shutout and getting Tampa Bay within a victory of reaching the Stanley Cup finals for the second time in franchise history. They won the Cup in 2004.
Tampa Bay’s special teams played a major role. The Lightning killed off four power plays in clinical fashion in the opening 31 minutes of a scoreless game, limiting New York to four shots, and then Stamkos added a power-play goal after Filppula opened the scoring.
Game 6 is Tuesday night in Florida.
This isn’t the first time the Rangers have been on the edge of seeing their Presidents’ Trophy-winning season come to an end. They trailed the Washington Capitals 3-1 in the conference semifinals and rallied. They also overcame a 3-1 deficit last year against Pittsburgh.
This was a game the Rangers controlled early. The power plays gave them a chance to put Tampa Bay down but they failed to convert, which was surprising because New York had two power-play goals in each of the three previous games.
WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: After 17 grueling periods crammed into just four games over the previous week, the Anaheim Ducks have no doubt they can play at hockey’s highest level with the Chicago Blackhawks.
Heading into a pivotal Game 5 on Monday, the Ducks also realize their two gut-wrenching overtime losses were missed opportunities to take out their veteran, playoff-tested opponents – and they can’t afford two more.
Chicago evened the series at two games apiece Saturday night with Antoine Vermette’s goal in double overtime. The 5-4 win was the Blackhawks’ fourth OT victory of an increasingly charmed postseason.
Anaheim still hasn’t lost in regulation in the Stanley Cup playoffs, but Chicago has a knack for big moments the Ducks haven’t matched in this series.
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