Through three periods and overtime, Vasilevskiy and Shesterkin combined to stop 84 of 86 shots. There were plenty of scoring chances generated for both teams, so fans were treated to a special night of goaltending from two of the best in the world.
The Lightning dominated play in the opening minutes, firing six of the game's first seven shots. But then the Rangers took over. They generated several dangerous looks, including a Vincent Trocheck breakaway. New York eventually cashed in when Mika Zibanejad zipped home a shot from the slot at 12:45. Before the period ended, Vasilevskiy made another breakaway save, stopping Vitali Kravtsov to keep the Lightning's deficit at one.
Early in the second period, the Lightning put the puck in the net, but the goal was correctly overturned when replays showed that Brandon Hagel gloved the puck to the ice before it deflected in off Adam Fox's skate. Then momentum shifted to New York. The Rangers received two separate power play chances before the period was halfway done and they created a handful of Grade-A chances during the two man advantages. They were unable to extend the lead, however, as Vasilevskiy continued to deliver key saves. He finished the middle stanza with 19 stops. That total included a third breakaway save (on Julien Gauthier) and perhaps his best save of the night, a lunging stop on Filip Chytil's one-timer from the side of the net.
The Lightning created some good looks of their own in the period. Victor Hedman hit the crossbar in the closing minutes of the frame. The second period also featured some Tampa Bay line shuffling. Hagel rejoined Anthony Cirelli and Alex Killorn - the Lightning's shutdown line from the 2022 playoffs - while Steven Stamkos went onto a line with Brayden Point and Nikita Kucherov. That move paid dividends in the third period. Point, Kucherov, and Stamkos were dangerous nearly every time they hit the ice. Stamkos one-timed a Kucherov pass off the crossbar in the opening stages of the third. Soon after, that line teamed up for the tying goal. Kucherov set up Stamkos at the inner part of the right circle. Stamkos slid the puck to Point at the side of the net. Point swatted the rolling puck off Shesterkin and it deflected into the net at 5:32.
The final 14:28 of regulation was nerve-wracking and intense. Both teams created good opportunities to score and potentially win the game, but the goaltenders kept the pucks out. In overtime, the Lightning killed one final penalty, ensuring that the shootout would decide a winner. Point tallied a goal in the second round before Artemi Panarin extended the contest when he scored in the third round. The Rangers almost won it in the fourth round when Kaapo Kakko put his shot off the inside of the post. Finally, in the sixth round, Killorn beat Shesterkin on the stick side and Vasilevskiy denied Fox's attempt.
A night after he was in net for the win against Montreal, Vasilevskiy stopped 45 of 46 New York shots and only allowed one goal through six rounds of the shootout. Thanks to his performance, the Lightning were able to rally and sweep both ends of the back-to-back.
Lightning Radio Three Stars of the Game (as selected by Phil Esposito):
1. Andrei Vasilevskiy - Lightning. 45 saves.
2, Igor Shesterkin - Rangers. 39 saves.
3. Brandon Hagel - Lightning.
