Monday 25 May 2015 07:26, UK
Tampa Bay Lightning moved a step closer to the Stanley Cup final by beating New York Rangers 2-0 on Sunday, to edge 3-2 ahead in their best-of-seven Eastern Conference play-off final.
Both goals arrived during the second period from the sticks of Valtteri Filppula and skipper Steven Stamkos.
Stamkos provided the assist for Filppula who flicked the puck over goaltender Henrik Lundqvist, 13:29 into the second period.
And five minutes later, Nikita Kucherov and Ondrej Palat combined to set up Stamkos while Tampa goalie Ben Bishop stopped all 26 shots he faced.
Lightning coach Jon Cooper said: "It's not how many you score. It's how many you keep out of the net. The boys committed to defence.”
And Bishop added: "I think tonight was our hardest game. There's going to be nights where things don't go your way and it's one of those things if you let it bother you, then you're in trouble.
“You can't look at it like a small picture. You've got to look at it like the whole year. There's going to be good nights, bad nights, and it's just one of those things."
Game six is on Tuesday with a possible decider next Friday in New York.
