Tonight at 8 p.m. ET, the New York Rangers and Tampa Bay Lightning face-off for Game 6 of their Eastern Conference Final best-of-seven series live from the Amalie Arena in Tampa Bay as part of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
New York, the NHL's best road team in the regular season, hopes to force a Game 7 back home by winning one more away from Madison Square Garden while Tampa Bay looks to punch its ticket to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since winning it all in 2004.
The Rangers took Game 1 by a 2-1 final while the Lightning bounced back with a 6-3 victory in Game 2 and a 6-5 overtime win in Game 3. The Blueshirts knotted the series with a 5-1 triumph in Game 4 while the Bolts blanked their opponents 2-0 on the road in Game 5.
Game 6 can be live streamed for free here.
Valtteri Filppula and Steven Stamkos (power play) each scored in the second period to propel the Lightning to a 2-0 win in Game 5 and a 3-2 series lead.
The Rangers have won six straight Game 6s and 7s dating back to last year and will look to feed off of becoming the first team to overcome a 3-1 series deficit in two straight postseasons after they did it against the Pittsburgh Penguins in Round 2 last year and the Washington Capitals in the second round this spring.
"I don't think the past up to this point really matters," Rangers center Derek Stepan said per NHL.com. "We know the situation we're in. We have to stay confident. We've just got to find a way to win a game in Tampa and just take it one game, Game 6, and we'll see what happens from there."
Stepan leads New York with 12 points this season off of five goals and seven assists. Derick Brassard is second on the Rangers with 11 points off of six tallies and five helpers while Rick Nash has lit the lamp four times and added six assists for 10 points. Chris Kreider has a club-best seven markers this postseason.
Though they have a 3-2 edge at home, the Lightning knows nothing will come easy.
"It's going to be obviously a tough game," Brian Boyle told NHL.com. "Last game was a tough game. We have to understand the momentum and all of that, and it starts fresh now."
Tyler Johnson has paced Tampa Bay with 18 points and a playoff-best 12 goals in these playoffs. Nikita Kucherov and Stamkos each have seven tallies and 10 helpers for 17 points apiece for the Lightning while Alex Killorn has lit the lamp six times and added nine assists for 15 points.
In between the pipes, Tampa Bay turns to Ben Bishop and he is a win away from bringing the team to the Stanley Cup Final in his first postseason despite rocky outings in Games 3 and 4. Bishop is 11-7 this spring with a 2.08 GAA and a .922 save percentage.
New York counters with Henrik Lundqvist in the blue paint and he is 10-7 with a 2.06 GAA and a .929 save percentage despite some rocky outings in this series. Lundqvist usually thrives in the crease in elimination games.
The Rangers look to force their second straight Game 7 while the Lightning looks to go to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in 11 years when the puck drops on Game 6 live tonight from the Amalie Arena in Tampa Bay as part of the 2015 Stanley Cup playoffs.
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