The Tampa Bay Lightning have injected life into the Stanley Cup Final with a crucial 6-2 home win against the Colorado Avalanche in Game 3.
A Lightning loss would have given the Avalanche a near-insurmountable 3-0 series lead, but by getting the job done on their home ice, the reigning back-to-back Stanley Cup champions pegged the margin back to 2-1, with Game 4 also at home.
After a crushing 7-0 loss to the Avalanche in Game 2, the visitors threatened to put the series to bed by opening the scoring through a Gabriel Landeskog goal eight minutes in, but the Lightning would respond this time.
Anthony Cirelli was the man to find the back of the net and tie the game later in the first period, before Ondrej Palat got on the end of a Steven Stamkos pass to give the Lightning a 2-1 lead heading into the first break.
The two sides traded early goals as Nicholas Paul put the home side up 3-1 briefly, before Landeskog's second kept it a one-goal game – and then the Lightning took over.
A seven-minute barrage saw Tampa Bay add three quick goals to Steven Stamkos, Pat Maroon and Corey Perry, giving the hosts plenty of breathing room and allowing them to turn the third period into a scoreless grind to come out with the victory.
Speaking to ESPN after the win, Stamkos said his side has too much self-belief to listen to those who had them written off after a couple of tough games away from home.
"They can say whatever we want – we know what we have in our dressing room," he said.
"We knew coming back home that we play well in front of our fans, and it was a great comeback tonight.
"It's a tough place to play in Colorado – they have a great team, they come out strong, they come out fast. But like I said the other day, we can do that on home ice too.
"It's a series now, and we've got some work to do between now and next game, but we've got another game at home and we'll look to continue this game that we played tonight."
Avalanche star Nathan MacKinnon was not willing to overreact to the loss – his side's first road defeat of the playoffs so far, entering the contest 7-0 away from home.
"We're going to lose games," he said. "We've won every game on the road, so I guess we were kind of due for a tough night.
"It wasn't all bad – I thought we did a lot of good things. We controlled the play a lot, but every mistake we made they capitalised on, and that's how they play.
"They're a really, really good team, obviously – I don't have to say that – so we've got to be sharper."
Hurricanes produce yet another late comeback to continue historic season
The Carolina Hurricanes secured their first back-to-back 100-point seasons in franchise history on Tuesday as they scored three in the third period to defeat the New York Rangers 3-2 on the road.
With the victory, the Hurricanes improved their record to 46-15-8 – trailing only the 54-11-5 Boston Bruins for the league's top mark – and 69 games is the fewest needed to reach 100 points in franchise history.
Adding to their historic night, Carolina set another franchise record with their 10th third-period comeback of the season.
Despite the action-packed finish, it was a defensive grind through two periods as an early goal from New York's Tyler Motte was the only score heading into the last.
Jalen Chatfield equalised nine minutes into the third period, but Kaapo Kakko put the Rangers back in front 2-1 just 31 seconds later.
The hectic scoring sequence was not over, as Stefan Noesen made it 2-2 only 18 seconds after the restart, setting up Teuvo Teravainen for the Hurricanes' winner with 2:33 remaining.
Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind'Amour said he was inspired by the way his team refused to drop their heads after going down.
"I thought it was a great effort, right from the start," he told reporters. "We didn't come off of it. We had a game plan and the guys knew what we needed to do.
"They've got a high-offense team, so we were trying to limit their chances. Everybody – all 20 guys – contributed in this win.
"Even though it wasn't looking good for most of the game, we were down, then we tied it up and they got another right away, I just loved the way we [shook it off], next shift.
"It was great to tie it up and then get the late one. We got what we deserved tonight, for sure."
Offseason acquisition Brent Burns also got in on the history-making fun, adding to his franchise record for points by a defenseman (53) with the game-winning assist, and he pointed to Brind'Amour's system as the catalyst for his terrific year.
"The system has been great," he said. "We play with a deep team and we just roll. It's been a lot of fun.
"I've said it before, but it's a great group, and a special group. It's been a lot of fun to try and come in and find a place."
Chatfield pointed to how previous comebacks have given the Hurricanes "more confidence" when faced with difficult situations, and they trust what they are doing as a unit.
"We know what we've got in this locker room, and we know how we want to play every night," he said.
"To be able to match up against these guys, another great team, [is great]. We lost the first two to them, so to be able to get this one feels nice. We just have to keep going from there."
Hat-trick hero Kane hails 'big points' as Oilers edge Kraken in tight Pacific Division playoff chase
Evander Kane underlined his value to the Edmonton Oilers with a hat-trick in their 6-4 win over the Seattle Kraken but he was more pre-occupied with what the victory meant to their playoffs hopes.
The Western Conference playoff chase is tight, with the Oilers edging ahead of the Kraken into third in the Pacific Division with Saturday's victory where they scored twice in every period in Seattle.
Edmonton are 39-23-8 on the back of three straight wins, just ahead of the Kraken (38-24-7) in the final automatic playoff spot from the Pacific Division. The Las Vegas Golden Knights (42-21-6) and Los Angeles Kings (40-20-9) lead the division.
Kane's hat-trick came from only three shots, marking his second three-goal performance of the season and fifth in his past 49 appearances.
"It's nice to help contribute to an important win," Kane said. "Big points with the division so tight.
"This is probably the tightest I've seen it with respect to the entire conference, both divisions, where you can literally be in first place in the Western Conference, or you could be in a Wild Card spot within a matter of a week. It's still tight.
"There are still very important games down the stretch left to be played, and I think it's a great opportunity for our group to enjoy that type of challenge and get you ready for the post-season."
"I've been in and out of the line-up with injuries all year, so just trying to get into some rhythm heading into the playoffs, and tonight definitely helps that."
Kane has only played in 29 of the Oilers' 70 games this campaign due to injuries, with coach Jay Woodcroft delighted to see him back at close to his best.
"Happy for him," Woodcroft said. "He's a warrior. He plays through injuries. He's just getting up and running again just because of his injuries and whatnot.
"It's kind of been a start-and-stop season for him, but he's been all around the puck in any game that he's played and for three to go in for him tonight, I was happy for him."
Kane's return to form and fitness has aided star man Connor McDavid, who had a goal and two assists, bringing up 134 points for the season.
"That's part of my job is to be productive for this group," Kane said. "Obviously we have two of the best players in the world, but they can't carry a team and win a championship. You need everyone pulling their weight.
"I've been in and out of the line-up with injuries all year, so just trying to get into some rhythm heading into the playoffs, and tonight definitely helps that."
McDavid's 134 points are the seventh-most points by a player in the past 30 years, while his performance was his 20th three-point game of the season.
Zach Hyman also added a goal and an assist, recording his first 30-goal season. He is the fourth Oilers player to reach that mark this season, the first time the franchise has achieved that since 1989-90.
Stars make it six wins from seven after thriving in 'real test' against the Kraken
Dallas Stars coach Peter DeBoer was thrilled with his team's efforts after Monday's 5-2 victory saw them sweep their two-game road series against the Seattle Kraken.
It took less than six minutes for the Stars to jump ahead by two, with Evgenii Dadonov's early opener followed shortly after by Jamie Benn's power-play goal.
The power-play unit consisting of Benn, Joe Pavelski and Jason Robertson were dynamic, as Pavelski and Robertson assisted Benn's goal, before Benn turned provider for Pavelski early in the second period, and Benn nabbed another assist when he set up Robertson for the third power-play goal of the night to seal things.
Stars center Wyatt Johnson – who assisted the opener and scored his side's fourth goal – highlighted the impact of getting such incredible production from their power-plays.
"It's huge," he said. "Especially when you're on the road – just getting like three goals on the power play, it's always, always a big help."
Coach DeBoer called it "an important four points" as the Stars hold onto a three-point buffer atop the Central division, and sit one point behind the Vegas Golden Knights in the race for the top seed in the Western Conference.
"You look at the standings and we're in a fight for first in the division, first in the conference," he said. "[Seattle are] in a battle for playoff positioning.
"They've been playing great all year, so this was a real test for us coming in here for two games and I thought our group really responded."
On the other side, the Kraken blew a golden opportunity to establish themselves as one of the West's top sides, getting leapfrogged by Dallas, the Minnesota Wild and the Los Angeles Kings during their current three-game losing streak.
"Bottom line, we didn't get job done," Kraken coach Dave Hakstol said. "At the end of the day that's what matters.
"We've been a group that's been able to turn the page and go back to the next job at hand. This group has to be able to do that again."
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