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Ray Corbett of Huguenot, left, and Scott Coffey of Arden Heights prepare to watch Game 4 of the Rangers-Lightning series at Buffalo Wild Wings in Graniteville.
(Staten Island Advance/Stephen Hart)
11:00 p.m. -- That will do it from here. Thanks for checking in. Look for our postgame report on Game 4 in about an hour on SI Live.com.
10:52 p.m. -- There were plenty of happy Rangers fans at Buffalo Wild Wings following New York's Game 4 win.
Louis Torchio, Vanessa Scarfo and Gary Rifkin (wearing a Ryan Callahan Rangers jersey) celebrate at Buffalo Wild Wings after the Blueshirts' 5-1 Game 4 win.
"We're going back home to MSG, we're going to win there and then win again and wrap it up in Tampa. Rangers in six," said Gary Rifkin of Huguenot, who said he put on the first Rangers jersey he grabbed from his closet and put it on.
"Look which one it is ... a (Ryan) Callahan jersey. And they're playing his team," Rifkin said. "I can't take this jersey off now."
"The difference tonight was they didn't give up the puck as much as the last two games," said Louis Torchio of Prince's Bay.
"I always feel better when they win," added Vanessa Scarfo of Great Kills.
10:44 p.m. -- It's over! Rangers win, 5-1, to even the series at 2-all. It's headed back to MSG for Game 5 on Sunday.
10:41 p.m. -- Klein puts Tampa's Moorow in a headlock after colliding with Lundqvist.
10:37 p.m. -- Tampa power play coming up.
10:35 p.m. -- St. Louis with another good chance. He could've had four tonight.
10:31 p.m. -- Just over 4 minutes left, 5-1 Rangers.
10:29 p.m. -- St. Louis fires wide on a break.
10:27 p.m. -- St. Louis robbed by Bishop.
10:25 p.m. -- Goal Rangers! Nash scores on the power play, deflecting a shot in front. 5-1. And they nearly score again secs later. 8 minutes left.
10:23 p.m. -- Rangers being out-shot 29-9 last two periods, but have 3-1 edge in goals.
10:20 p.m. -- Hooking penalty on Tampa. Power play for the Rangers coming up. About 10 minutes left in the third.
10:18 p.m. -- The Rangers playing with a mean streak tonight. 11:55 left.
10:10 p.m. -- Goal Rangers! And it's St. Louis with his patented one-timer from his knee. 4-1 Rangers.
10:08 p.m. -- St. Louis draws a penalty. Power play for the Rangers coming up.
10:07 p.m. -- 15:47 left in the third. 3-1, Rangers.
10:02 p.m. -- Third period underway ...
9:54 p.m. -- Cautious optimism seemed to be the catch phrase for Rangers fans heading into the third period.
(From left to right): Michael Weitzman of Westerleigh, Vanessa Vitiello of Grasmere, Jessica Longo of Westerleigh and Antonio Lynch of Richmond are cautiously optimistic about the Rangers' chances headed into the third period.
"They're playing much better than they did the last two games," said Jessica Longo of Westerleigh. "They're doing a good job of slowing the Lightning down. I've really been impressed with (defenseman Keith) Yandle in particular. This is a big change from the Capitals series."
"They have to keep Tampa's power play in check," added Michael Weitzman of Westerleigh. "And they have to force play and get some power plays of their own to continue the momentum."
"I'm confident but not too comfortable," said Longo. "They need another goal."
9:43 p.m. -- Second period ends with Rangers up, 3-1. Lundqvist has come up HUGE through two periods. Even though the Rangers are winning, Tampa still has more chances and better quality opportunities.
9:40 p.m. -- This Triplets line is killing the Rangers. A few big chances aaved by Hank.
9:35 p.m. -- Rangers score! Yandle shot from point deflects in off Tampa player for 3-1 lead, possibly screened by Tanner Glass. Under 3 minutes to go. Big "Let's Go Rangers" chant here.
9:34 p.m. -- Rangers nearly score seconds later with St. Louis passing on a 2 on 1 with Hayes, who can't really get a shot off ... too close in. St. Louis should've shot.
9:33 p.m. -- Rangers score! Nice play by the unsung Fast to penetrate the zone, then Klein shot is saved by Kreider on the doorstep to put in rebound. 2-1 Rangers.
9:31 p.m. -- Tampa's speed has Rangers defensemen intimidated, especially Staal.
9:27 p.m. -- Goal Tampa. Stamkos slapsht between the circles after a Tampa faceoff win ties it up, 1-1.
9:26 p.m. -- Rangers getting out-shot 9-1 in the second.
9:23 p.m. -- Dominating sequence by Tampa with no goal. Dan Boyle's inability to clear the defensive zone led to a long Tampa possession and then St. Louis' pass to a Lightning player in center ice led to an odd-man rush. Scary stuff.
9:21 p.m. -- Callahan hits the post for Tampa. Penalty over.
9:19 p.m. -- Kreider bad tripping penalty in the offensive zone. Tonight, we're getting the reckless Kreider.
9:17 p.m. -- Killorn backhand wide right in front for Tampa.
9:13 p.m. -- Tampa's speed wasn't a surprise to the Rangers, but I think their physical play has to be.
9:10 p.m. -- Lundqvist with a huge backhand stop on the doorstep and Tampa can't get to rebound. Penalty now over.
9:07 p.m. -- Shorthanded give and go with Nash and Stepan. Nash can't settle for a backhand chance right in front of Bishop. Puck comes back the other way and Hank stops Killorn breakaway.
9:06 p.m. -- Hagelin shorthanded chance.
9:05 p.m. -- Bad penalty by Staal seconds into the period.
9:04 p.m. -- Second period underway ...
8:55 p.m. -- I bumped into my former Advance colleague Mike Anderson, who was sitting at a table with friends. Here's his take on the first period, along with that of Marc D'Orazio of Willowbrook.
Marc D'Orazio, left, and Mike Anderson liked what they saw from the Rangers in the first period.
"Their defense was a lot better. They played more disciplined," said Anderson of the Rangers. "They limited Tampa Bay's shots, and a big factor was Nash scoring. Now, if only they can get St. Louis going."
"It was a very cautious period, but that's the best way to play against Tampa," added D'Orazio. "If the Rangers attack and make a mistake, the puck is going the other way in a hurry."
"Still, they can't be complacent," Anderson warned. "They can't lay back because Tampa can score two goals quickly."
8:46 p.m. -- First period ends with Rangers up, 1-0. There were still some major defensive lapses and some odd-man rushes given up, but the Blueshirts played better defensively than in Game 3 (or Game 2). And yes ... a Rick Nash sighting!
8:44 p.m. -- Yandle shot pops up in the air and nearly gets behind Bishop.
8:43 p.m. -- Rangers score! Nash breaks in and scores on the backhand, just tucking it inside the right post. 1-0, New York. 2 and a half minutes left in the first.
8:42 p.m. -- Yandle with a dangerous pass in front of his net and St. Louis late back-checking and then gets knocked to the ice (too old and too slow).
8:39 p.m. -- Power play over.
8:38 p.m. -- Tampa fans booing ex-Lightning St. LOuis. To me, they should want him to have the puck.
8:37 p.m. -- Tampa nearly gets 2 on 1 shorthanded chance.
8:35 p.m. -- Rangers power play coming up.
8:34 p.m. -- Nash denied twice point blank. No pace on the shots.
8:33 p.m. -- Replay showed how Rangers left Johnson wide open on that post shot ... How can that happen???!!!
8:31 p.m. -- Rangers blow chance for a shorthanded 3 on 2.
8:30 p.m. -- Tampa hits the post seconds into the power play.
8:28 p.m. -- Penalty on Marty St. Louis eight minutes in. Tampa power play coming up.
8:23 p.m. -- Rangers block a shot on a Tampa 4 on 2.
8:22 p.m. -- Kreider leaves Kucherov alone and he fires badly from point-blank range off a Tampa faceoff win. Sloppy.
8:21 p.m. -- Nash gives the puck away in center ice.
8:19 p.m. -- Shepherd fires wide and slides into net on mini break for Rangers.
8:17 p.m. -- I feel better: Albert and Micheletti are doing the game.
8:15 p.m. -- And we're underway ...
8:15 p.m. -- Rick Nash: 2 goals on 53 playoff shots.
8:07 p.m. -- We're a few minutes from game time.
7:55 p.m. -- Chris Spoto of Great Kills is also at a confidence scale of 7.
Chris Spoto of Great Kills, left, and Anthony Tanzillo of Huguenot get set for the start of Game 4.
"If the Rangers win, it has to be a low-scoring game, because they can't keep up with Tampa Bay," said Spoto. "If Tampa scores two goals early, then I'd definitely pull (Lundqvist)."
Spoto's prediction: 3-2, Rangers.
7:50 p.m. -- A couple of out-of-town Rangers fans feel OK heading into Game 4, and voiced the same keys for a victory.
"I'm pretty confident. On a scale of 1-10, I'd say I'm a 7," said Vinny Pagnotta of Long Island. "They just have to defend better and get better goaltending."
"On a scale of 1-10, I'm a 10," added Daniel Mattson of Florida, who is visiting family.
Both agreed they wouldn't have made a change to Cam Talbot tonight, and both said the player who needs to step up is Rick Nash.
7:40 p.m. -- Two guys from Huguenot who confess to being more baseball fans than hockey fans are a little skeptical of the Rangers' chances tonight.
"I don't think so," said Anthony Tanzillo of the Blueshirts' ability to win the series. "I don't think they have it anymore."
"Tampa's very fast," added Gabriel Santamaria. "If the Rangers can win tonight, they have a chance. If they lose, they have no chance."
7:25 p.m. -- Two other fans who are still true believers are Ray Corbett of Huguenot and Scott Coffey of Arden Heights.
"I feel confident," said Corbett. "And no, I didn't want to make a goalie change. "I'd rather die with Lundqvist."
"Lundqvist is shaky against the Lightning. Maybe he's lost confidence against them," noted Coffey. "Still, I wouldn't make a change. Talbot's good, but you can't do that. If they lost tonight with Talbot, the people would kill them for taking Lundqvist out."
Eddie Turner and Robert Ciurcina, both of Westerleigh, are still confident that the Rangers can win Game 4 and even the series.
7:20 p.m. -- Hello, and welcome to Buffalo Wild Wings. We're here about 45 minutes before the drop of the puck for Game 4 of the Rangers-Lightning series in Tampa.
So far from those interviewed, faith is still high in the Broadway Blueshirts -- and in goalie Henrik Lundqvist, despite having surrendered six goals in each of the last two games.
"If they don't win tonight, it's going to be tough, but I think they're going to do it," said Robert Ciurcina of Westerleigh. "I'm still confident in Hank."
"I feel confident because if they don't win tonight, it's over. It's do or die," added Eddie Turner of Westerleigh. "There's no way they can win three in a row against this team."
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We know the Rangers have the skill and the intestinal fortitude to come back from a 3-1 series deficit and win ... but do we want to see them tempt fate again?
I say a resounding, "No!"
That means Friday night's Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals between our beloved Blueshirts and the host Tampa Bay Lightning is pretty important.
New York showed last contest that it can score against Tampa goalie Ben Bishop. Unfortunately, it also displayed the inability to hold down the very fast Lightning.
We'll be out at Buffalo Wild Wings on Richmond Avenue in Graniteville talking to Blueshirt backers before, during and after Game 4. If we don't see you out there, take part in the fun by following our live blog -- where we'll feature constant updates while also giving you a sense of how fans are feeling throughout the night.