Eastern Conference Final Tied as Lightning Win Game 4

The Tampa Bay Lightning have turned a 2-0 series deficit into a 2-2 tie.

After dropping the first two games of the Eastern Conference Final against the New York Rangers, the Bolts picked up two critical wins at home in Games 3 and 4.

The first two games of this series marked the first time in years that Tampa Bay had lost consecutive playoff games. A lot of credit goes to the Rangers for pulling that off, but as one might have expected, that didn’t take the Lightning out of the series by any stretch of the imagination.

Instead, the Bolts put their championship pedigree on display once the series shifted home, and now the East Final is a best-of-three series.

The Lightning evened the Eastern Conference Final in Game 4.

Pat Maroon opened the Game 4 scoring with his third goal of the playoffs. The marker came only two and half minutes into the game, and for a while, it looked as though it might be the only goal that Tampa Bay would need.

Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos each scored their seventh goals of the postseason to add to the lead, while Ondrej Palat tacked on an empty netter as part of his three-point night.

However, thanks to 33 saves by the reigning Conn Smythe Trophy winner, Andrei Vasilevskiy, the Rangers never had a true opportunity to climb into the game. The Blueshirts did score one goal late in the contest, but it wasn’t enough.

As the teams prepare for Game 5, both the Lightning and Rangers would like to escape this series in six games, as the Colorado Avalanche are patiently waiting and resting as they prepare for their Stanley Cup Final opponent. With that said, this series seems poised to go the distance.

This is the first time since 1991 that the first four games of the Eastern Conference Final have gone to the home teams, so all eyes will be on New York with Game 5 at Madison Square Garden. Game 5 will be Thursday night.