Lightning understand how much work remains against Rangers in Game 4

TAMPA -- The Tampa Bay Lightning got back into the Eastern Conference Final against the New York Rangers with one win, but the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions are experienced enough to know their work is far from done.

Trailing 2-1 in the best-of-7 series heading into Game 4 at Amalie Arena on Tuesday (8 p.m. ET; ESPN, ESPN+, CBC, SN, TVAS), Tampa Bay can't be satisfied after pulling out a 3-2 victory in Game 3 on Sunday when Ondrej Palat broke a tie with 42 seconds remaining in the third period.
"We have a team of perspective," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said Monday. "I think that's why we've been good in the past about responding after losses and then continuing after that. By no means can we hang our hat because we scored a goal with 42 seconds left and won a hockey game that, 'Oh, we're good.'"
Although forward Brayden Point skated again, Cooper said he won't play Tuesday because of the lower-body injury that has sidelined him since Game 7 of the first round against the Toronto Maple Leafs. So the Lightning will have to try to win again without Point with the hope that he might be able to return and help them later in the series.
Tampa Bay rallied to win Sunday by sticking with its game plan after falling behind 2-0 in the second period. The Lightning controlled play in the Rangers end for much of the game by getting the puck in deep and working down low against their defensemen, building a 52-30 advantage in shots on goal and an 86-51 gap in shot attempts.
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The Lightning didn't break through for an even-strength goal against Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin until Palat scored, but it was clear before that they had found their game. Now they need to do it again Tuesday.
"I think today you have to take a little breath and regroup because it's going to have to be the same tomorrow," Tampa Bay forward Corey Perry said. "What did we have, 50-something shots? You're going to have to get pucks to the net because he's a great goalie. If he sees the puck, he's going to stop it. It's what we've kind of been talking about.
"You have to go out and do it all over again.
Cooper pointed to "eight minutes left in the second period of Game 2," as the turning point. After losing 6-2 in Game 1, the Lightning began Game 2 playing the same way, committing turnovers that fueled the Rangers' speed game and led to counterattack scoring chances.
New York led 2-1 after the first period and dominated the first half of the second period, outshooting Tampa Bay 9-2, before the Lightning began making better decisions with the puck and got back to the possession game that carried them through a sweep of the Florida Panthers in the second round.
Although the comeback bid fell short in a 3-2 loss, Tampa Bay carried what it did better in the second half of Game 2 into Game 3.
"You don't get to execute anything you want to do unless you have the puck and we didn't have the puck at all in a lot of the first game and the first half of the second game," Cooper said. "But things started to click. We didn't pull that game out. We were close. Probably didn't deserve to win that game in the end. I think that the right team has won all three games, but that's when things changed for us, that point of Game 2."
Without making that change, the Lightning likely would be on the verge of being swept out of the series, ending their bid to become the first team to win the Stanley Cup in three consecutive seasons since the New York Islanders won four straight championships from 1980-83.
Tampa Bay was rolling after defeating Florida in the second round for its 10th consecutive playoff series win but lost its edge during a nine-day break before Game 1 against New York. As much as the Lightning have tried not to use that layoff as an excuse, it was clear they were missing something until they found it in the middle of Game 2.
"Kind of the message is if you're not happy with how you're playing, what are you going to do to change it?" Perry said. "And I think guys really bought in. It's one of those things where it might have just clicked, and we found our groove. Whatever it is you have to be able to go out each shift and continue to do what we've been doing lately."
The impact of momentum during the Stanley Cup Playoffs and whether it carries from game to game is debatable. But the Lightning feel they are building something they hope can help them even the series with the Rangers on Tuesday.
"You can see in this playoff especially momentum hasn't been a huge factor with a lot of teams, but I think for us it was the momentum of playing well," Lightning forward Alex Killorn said. "The first game was terrible. The second game we kind of find our legs. The third game we play a lot better. So we're building off that momentum, not just the win."