With captain Steven Stamko at the helm, the two-time defending champions beat the New York Rangers 2-1 in Saturday night’s final 6 game in the Eastern Conference, securing a place in the Stanley Cup final for the third year in a row. “It will be difficult to get out of the moment and look back and realize how special a group we have here because there are still a few games to be played,” said Stamkos. “You are not at the end of our goal yet, but saying that this team is very amazing and quite special.” Stamkos scored two goals and Andrei Vasilevski had 20 saves for Lightning, who won the series 4-2 – winning four games in a row after losing the first two on the road – and will face the Colorado Avalanche in the Cup final. Game 1 is Wednesday night in Denver. “It’s probably not the best word you can use, but I’m impressed with this team,” said coach Jon Cooper. “It’s impressive what they have done … I am just impressed by what they are doing to win a hockey game,” he added. “And the fact that they have every excuse in the world not to win because no one would blame them for saying hello, you won one, you won two, and they come back and go for a third. I’m impressed.” So the pic.twitter.com/Qr4SZtNcKv – @ NHL Stamkos put Lightning ahead for good in the third period, just 21 seconds after New York’s Frank Vatrano scored in the power play with Lightning in the penalty shootout. Nikita Kucherov and Ondrej Palat helped the winner with 6 1/2 minutes left, with the elf deflecting from Stamkos’s knee into the net after Rangers goalkeeper Igor Shesterkin stopped the opening shot. Stamkos also scored in a wrist shot from the top of the right circle in the middle of the second period. “Obviously I was a little disappointed with myself when I took the penalty … It’s easy to say now, but for some reason I was not as upset as usual in these situations,” Stamkos said. “I was confident in our group that we would find a way, whether it was in the regulation or in extra time. We deserved to win the game. Steven Stamkos scored to give them https://t.co/llG5yjQEEV – @ PR_NHL The Lightning are the first team to make three consecutive appearances in the Cup final since Edmonton did so in 1983-85. They are trying to be the first to win three consecutive championships since the New Yorkers claimed four consecutive games from 1980-83. The Rangers, with 3-2 in a row for the third consecutive round, were 5-0 in the knockout games this season before Saturday night. The only teams to win more knockout games in a post-season period were the 1975 New York Islanders (eight), the 2014 Los Angeles Kings (seven) and the 2003 Minnesota Wild (six). “It’s difficult at the moment. But we played well, we fought hard, we had a chance to win all these games,” said Rangers coach Gerard Gallant. “They found a way to achieve the big goal at the big moment.” New York lost three of its first four games before winning three consecutive knockout games to beat the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round. They lost the first two on the road to Carolina before rebounds to chase the Hurricanes in seven games to reach the Eastern Conference Finals. It was a different story on Saturday night, with the Lightning limited New York’s goal opportunities as they beat the Rangers 31-21. Vasilevski made large areas without being tested. He conceded just seven shots in the opening period, six in the second and eight in the third. Shesterkin, meanwhile, stopped 29 of 31 shots and made a big save after a long rebound to give New York a chance. “I thought Igor was great. He gave us a chance to win every night. We had better games in a lot of games, but he was great. He was our best player all year and again in this series,” said Gallant. “Shesterkin was incredible. He made some incredible rebounds to keep them in it, but I think I felt a calm presence because of the team,” said Stamkos. “It was just one of those nights where whether it was the next change afterwards, whether I scored or someone else, it was just a feeling that we would make it.”
