Krenn: Three Things we learned from another late winner

Three down, one to go.
The Tampa Bay Lightning are just one win away from advancing to their third-straight Stanley Cup Final after defeating the New York Rangers, 3-1, on Thursday night at Madison Square Garden.
Heading to New York with the series tied at two apiece, the Bolts knew they would have to get at least one win on the road and they played a tight-checking style with an attention to detail that is paramount in the postseason.

As the game began, both teams played with some caution in the first 20 minutes, knowing the importance of winning Game 5.
While the Rangers held an 8-3 shot advantage after the first period, the Lightning did hit the post twice in the opening frame.
The first post came off a rocket of a slap shot from Nikita Kucherov when Steven Stamkos made a smart play to dump the puck into the Rangers end with a hard bank pass off the corner boards that allowed Kucherov to beat the defenseman and step into his shot that hit iron.
The second came with about 8:30 left in the period when Nick Paul entered the Rangers zone along the right side before shifting into the high slot on his forehand and ringing a wrist shot off the post.
It was a fairly even first period and the Bolts continued to do a much better job managing the puck in their own end than they did in Games 1 and 2. When the Lightning needed a save, Andrei Vasilevskiy was there. He was called upon to make a couple big saves and stood tall in the crease for Tampa Bay.
The second period featured more tight checking throughout all three zones, but it was New York who struck first to take the 1-0 lead.
After Zach Bogosian rimmed the puck around the boards in the Lightning's defensive zone, Ryan Lindgren came up the wall for the Rangers before firing a shot over the shoulder of Vasilevskiy to give New York a 1-0 lead with 9:31 left in the middle frame.
As has been the case throughout the postseason, Tampa Bay didn't blink. The Bolts answered the Rangers goal with a strong shift and drew a hooking penalty on K'Andre Miller just 38 seconds after New York made it 1-0.
While the Lightning were unable to score with the man advantage, they gained some momentum and it was Mikhail Sergachev who would tie the game late in the second period with 2:26 remaining. With plenty of bodies in front of Igor Shesterkin, Sergachev threw a shot on goal from the point that found its way through all the traffic and evened the score ahead of the second intermission.
After another period of hard skating and limited ice available, the Bolts did it again with another late goal to win the game. Similar to Tampa Bay's first goal, Sergachev threw a shot from the point that made its way through a ton of traffic and deflected off the knee of Ondrej Palat before finding its way past Shesterkin with 1:50 left in regulation.
Palat has come up clutch time and time again for the Lightning, who closed out the game with an empty-net goal from Brandon Hagel with 59 seconds remaining to secure the 3-1 win.
When the games are close, the Bolts are one tough group to beat. Now, they're just one win away from another trip to the Stanley Cup Final. Before Game 6 on Saturday, let's take a look at three things that led to a big Game 5 win for Tampa Bay.

1. PLAYING WITH PATIENCE
After going down 1-0 in a crucial Game 5, some teams may begin to panic, press, and get away from their game. That never seems to be the case for the Lightning, who, despite falling behind, continued to play their game and stick to the recipe that has gotten them to this point of the postseason.
"We just stayed patient," said Stamkos. "We knew it was going to be a challenge coming in this rink with the way they were playing, with the atmosphere."
That's the attitude of a leader and a team that have been there and done that. Whether it's 1-0, 3-2, or 6-5, Tampa Bay is comfortable with their game plan and what they can do as a team. They can play any way and have success, but when it gets down to these extremely important games, the Lightning have developed a trait of continuing to grind and sticking with their plan.
They rarely press and get away from what they do best. It's all about the recipe and the process. The Bolts feel confident that if they continue to stick to their plan, they'll be successful, regardless of the score.
"We knew it was going to be just a low-scoring, grind game," said Stamkos. "It certainly wasn't pretty at times, but we kept it at ones and you never know.
"That's twice now we've gone in the last couple shifts and have just continued with the game plan. When you stick with it long enough, usually you get rewarded and that's what our group did tonight."
It's a 60-minute game. Lightning head coach Jon Cooper may have said it best when describing the 60-minute mentality that his team has embraced.
"When the game is run by a clock, there's a finishing time," Cooper said. "You've got to play within that.
"The game-winning goal could've come in the first minute or it could come in the last minute. It doesn't really matter when it comes. You've just got to get it."
Tampa Bay got it. You never felt any kind of panic from the Lightning. They didn't get away from their structure. They weren't running around, pressing for a goal, and giving up high-danger chances as a result.
They stuck with their recipe and it paid off in the end, as it has so many times for this group.
"I think that's been a big trademark of the guys, not chasing things, regardless of what the score was," Cooper said. "Regardless of if you're behind in a game like we were tonight. Regardless of if the game's tied.
"You play it to the end and guys have done that."
Cooper has done a fantastic job getting all of his players to buy into Tampa Bay's philosophy. That doesn't happen without a strong leadership group. Learning from Lightning legends like Vincent Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis, Stamkos has grown into one of the best leaders in the NHL during his career with the Bolts. Him and Cooper are on the same page and preaching the same message to the group.
"It's defend till the end," Stamkos said. "We've got some guys that can make some plays and you never know when it's going to come.
"You never know when that moment is going to be in the game. Don't push for it. Don't go out of your way to try to make something happen. Let's just stay patient.
"That's three huge moments in the playoffs where we found a way at the end of the game. For the most part, especially when you come into an atmosphere like this and a road mentality, it's just do whatever it takes to win.
"Guys feel good about their effort tonight and we got rewarded."

2. PALLY'S POISE
We've said it time and time again, but Palat just continues to produce in a big way for Tampa Bay.
Palat's late goal in the third period of Game 5 was his 11th game-winning goal in the postseason for the Lightning, the most in franchise history.
When the pressure is highest, Palat never blinks. His game is consistent. He plays a hard, honest game and gives 100% effort on every single shift.
"I'm saying it all the time," Palat explained. "I'm trying to play every single game the same way. Sometimes it shows on the scoresheet, sometimes not.
"Sometimes I have a better game when I don't have any points.
"Sometimes I have some points and that game is not that great.
"It's great. I score a couple of goals, but I'm not judging my game all on points and stuff like that."
With his goal in Game 5, Palat became the first player in NHL history to score a game-winning goal in the final two minutes of multiple playoff games in a single postseason.
Over Tampa Bay's last three playoff runs overall, Palat ranks second on the Bolts in goals (24), fourth in assists (21), and fourth in points (45). Beating the odds, he was drafted 208th overall in the final round of the 2011 NHL Draft.
Quietly, he's been one of the most clutch players in the history of Tampa Bay sports history, period. While he may not get the attention he deserves on a national level, everyone in the Lightning dressing room knows what Palat brings to the table.
"Pally has been a guy that, like I've talked about and we've all talked about, has just a warrior mentality out there," said Stamkos. "He's willing to do anything and he gets rewarded because he plays the game the right way and whether it's the hockey gods or karma, or whatever it is, you do the right things, things are bound to happen.
"He goes to the net. I think it hit off his shin pad tonight on Sergy's shot. I mean, it's just, do the right things.
"Pally does those all the time and another huge goal for us."
Through 16 playoff games this year, it's Palat who leads the Bolts in goals with eight. His 14 points are the second-most on the team, while his six assists are tied with Stamkos for the second-most.
After Palat's huge game-winning goal in Game 3, Pat Maroon was asked how number 18 continues to come up in the clutch on a team full of stars.
"Are you not calling him a star," Maroon asked. "Have you looked at his stats?
"I'll call him a star in my eyes. He's a big-time player who steps up in big-time moments and that's what stars do."
No moment has proven to be too big for Palat, who continues to be a huge piece in Tampa Bay's core as they chase a third-straight Stanley Cup.

3. THE HARDEST ONE TO WIN
Everyone knows it.
In a best-of-seven series, the fourth and final win is always the hardest one to get.
The Rangers were down 3-2 in their First Round series. They were down 3-2 in their Second Round series. They're not going to roll over and let the Lightning walk freely into the Stanley Cup Final.
"I expect their best game with the guy they have leading the charge behind the bench," Cooper explained. "He's a hell of a coach. He'll have them going.
"The New York Rangers are a better team today than they were opening night of the playoffs. They've gotten better as a group. I would expect nothing less than an outstanding effort from them.
"In saying that, just because we're going home, it would be naive for us to think that now we're going back here and we're just going to win this game. Not a chance."
Experience has played such a huge role in Tampa Bay's success over the past few years and the Lightning continue to lean on that in some of the most pivotal moments of the playoffs.
They've been in this situation many times and will look to use that experience to help them close out a series that they started with two straight losses.
"We've got a great group of leaders on our team that make sure that we're staying in the right mindset before the games, after the games like this one," Sergachev said. "Obviously, they're not looking ahead because they've been in situations like that. Obviously, I've been in situations like that.
"We all know what's ahead of us and it's the toughest game yet, so we're just going to try to play the same way we're playing."
The Lightning were on the brink of elimination in Game 6 against Toronto and won the game. They closed out the series two days later in Game 7.
With a chance to sweep Florida at home in Game 4, the Bolts got an excellent performance from Andrei Vasilevskiy and ended the Panthers' season.
Now, Tampa Bay has a chance to advance to the final round with a win on home ice. The Game 5 win was huge, but, as a group, they won't be satisfied with this series until that fourth game is won.
"We're going home," said Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman. "We've got to execute like we have in the previous games.
"We really expect them to have their best game. That's the bottom line. Their back's against the wall. We expect their best game, but we've got to expect ourselves to have that desperation level as well.
"It's going to be an exciting time. We're excited to play in front of our fans, obviously, but at the end of the day, it's a hockey game.
"Same two teams going at it and we expect ourselves to have a great game."
There's no time for the Bolts to take their foot off the gas. They know what they are so close to potentially achieving and that's history. With just one more win, a Stanley Cup Final with the Colorado Avalanche awaits.
"It's not a time to rest on what we've done," said Stamkos. "Let's go home and let's finish the job.
"We know how extremely hard it is. These guys have pushed and battled all playoffs.
"It's going to be the toughest game yet, but our group certainly can rely on our experience."