The Lightning played well for two periods, albeit behind by a single goal for most of that time, before an inexplicably lackluster third period saw the Rangers bury them. The teams will now head back to New York for the decisive Game 7 on Friday.
The New York Rangers beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 7-3 in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Final Tuesday night in Tampa.
The formula was pretty simple and familiar for the New York Rangers Tuesday night: get an early lead, play good defense, watch the Lightning not play good defense, let your superstar goalie (in this case, Henrik Lundqvist) be himself and completely ignore any alleged Amalie Arena home ice mystique.