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TAMPA, Fla. -- The New York Rangers defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning 5-1 in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals Friday night at Amalie Arena. The series is tied at 2-2. How it happened: After losing back-to-back games where he allowed 12 goals combined, Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist responded with a 38-save performance en route to victory. It also helped that he received plenty of defensive help. Teammates were diving all over the place and clearing bodies and pucks out from in front of the net. The Lightning also hit a few posts, but Lundqvist was solid. From an offensive standpoint, the Rangers did their part, too. Rick Nash scored a pair of goals, his first giving New York a 1-0 lead at 17:18 of the first period. It was his third goal of the playoffs and first since Game 6 of the second round. He created time and space with a burst of speed and beat Ben Bishop. 
In the second, the Lightning controlled most of the period and were able to tie the game 1-1 at 11:30 when Steven Stamkos scored on a one-time blast from the slot. Even though Tampa was buzzing, the Rangers halted that momentum when Chris Kreider notched his seventh goal of the postseason, beating Bishop off a rebound in front. Kreider was on the doorstep and no one was there to move him out before the tally.
New York received another bit of puck luck to gain a 3-1 advantage when defenseman Keith Yandle's one-timer from the right point was going wide, but the puck ricocheted off the leg of Tampa Bay's Victor Hedman and beat Bishop at 17:04 of the second. The Rangers' Martin St. Louis felt a bit of vindication when he scored a power-play goal at 5:08 of the third period to give New York a 4-1 lead. Nash collected his second of the game at 11:33 of the third period to close the night. As much grief as Lundqvist took for letting up 12 goals in two games, Bishop has allowed 10 goals in the past two games. What it means: We have a series. The Lightning had a chance to put a stranglehold on the Rangers, but New York regained home-ice advantage for Game 5. Saves of the game: With the Rangers holding a 1-0 lead, Lundqvist made two huge plays in the second period to stifle Tampa Bay's attack. While it helped that the Lightning hit a few posts, the Rangers netminder helped his cause by being aggressive. The first crucial save came on a Tampa power play when the Lightning's Alex Killorn had a breakaway, but Lundqvist stayed squared and made the stop at 1:45 in the second period. The other play that proved crucial for the Rangers was when Lundqvist decided to poke-check the puck away from Tampa's Nikita Nesterov on a quality scoring chance in the second. Stat of the game: Tampa had 28 shot attempts in the second period. New York had 10. During 5-on-5 play in the second, the Lightning's shots attempts were 23 to New York's 7. Despite that dominance, the Rangers scored twice in the period. Up next: The series shifts back to New York for Game 5 Sunday night (8 p.m. ET) at Madison Square Garden.
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