Tampa continues to dominate series

LIGHTNING 5, PANTHERS 1

TAMPA, Fla. — Andrei Vasilevskiy is a not-so-secret key ingredient in the Tampa Bay Lightning’s recipe for success in the playoffs.

The reigning Conn Smythe Trophy recipient won his fifth consecutive postseason game Sunday, stopping 34 of 35 shots to help the twotime defending Stanley Cup champions beat the Florida Panthers 5-1 and move to the brink of another trip to the Eastern Conference final.

“It all starts with him,” forward Nick Paul said after Vasilevskiy stood tall again in shutting down the high-scoring Panthers, who had the NHL’s best record while averaging a league-high four goals per game during the regular season.

The Presidents’ Trophy winners have three goals in three games against the Lightning, who have a commanding 3-0 series lead and are within one victory of advancing to the conference final for the sixth time in eight years.

“There’s a whole ton of things that go into it,” Coach Jon Cooper said of Tampa Bay’s defensive effort.

“But we’re committed to play D, and I think it’s helped in some of these times that we’ve had the lead. … But we have a plan, and the guys are executing and playing hard, ” Cooper added. “We feel like we’ve got a recipe going here, and we just have to stick with it. It’s hard, though, because they’re a hell of a team.”

Steven Stamkos scored two goals and Nikita Kucherov had a goal and three assists for the Lightning, who are in the playoffs for the eighth time in nine seasons under Cooper.

Game 4 is Monday night at Amalie Arena, where Tampa Bay has won three of four games this postseason.

RANGERS 3, HURRICANES 1

NEW YORK — Mika Zibanejad had a goal and an assist, Igor Shesterkin stopped 43 shots, and New York beat Carolina in Game 3 of their second-round playoff series.

Chris Kreider and Tyler Motte also scored as the Rangers cut their deficit to 2-1 in the best-of-seven matchup. Game 4 is Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden.

It was just the Rangers’ second win against Carolina in the teams’ last 10 meetings, dating to the qualifying round of the 2020 playoffs in the bubble in Toronto. The Hurricanes swept that series in three games and won three of four in the regular season.

Nino Niederreiter scored for Carolina, and Antti Raanta finished with 30 saves. The Hurricanes dropped to 0-4 on the road this postseason to go along with their 6-0 home mark.

Shesterkin had 17 saves in the first period, 17 in the second and nine in the third.

The Rangers had a 2-on-1 breakaway 51/2 minutes into the third period, but Ryan Reaves’ shot from the right side was stopped by Raanta. Motte, who started raising his arms in anticipation of a goal, couldn’t corral the rebound.

Raanta then made a stellar save to deny Kaapo Kakko’s attempt from the right side three minutes later to keep it a one-goal game.

The Hurricanes pulled Raanta for an extra skater with 21/2 minutes to go. Less than 30 seconds later, Kreider missed a chance at the empty net, but Motte sealed it with a backhander from the defensive zone with 1:23 remaining.

OILERS 4, FLAMES 1

EDMONTON, Alberta — Evander Kane had three goals in a six-minute span in the second period, Leon Draisaitl set an NHL record with four assists in one playoff period and Edmonton defeated Calgary to take a 2-1 lead in their second-round playoff series.

Zach Hyman had the other goal for Edmonton and Connor McDavid had three more assists. Mike Smith, who was briefly replaced by Mikko Koskinen in the third period after getting run over by Milan Lucic, made 31 saves. Koskinen wasn’t forced to make a stop in just over four minutes.

Oliver Kylington scored the lone goal for Calgary. Jacob Markstrom allowed four goals on 34 shots before getting pulled for the Flames, who have been outscored 8-1 since taking a 3-1 lead in the second period of Game 2. Dan Vladar made seven saves in relief.

McDavid now has 23 points (six goals, 17 assists) through 10 postseason games. The only players in NHL playoff history with more points in the same span are Wayne Gretzky (29 in 1983; 25 in 1985), Mario Lemieux (25 in 1992) and Rick Middleton (23 in 1983).

Game 4 in the best-of-seven series is Tuesday night at Edmonton.