Rangers @ Lightning

Who will WIN this matchup?

New York Rangers (52-24-6)

@ Tampa Bay Lightning (51-23-8)

Starting Goalies:

Igor Shesterkin (NYR): Unconfirmed

Andrei Vasilevskiy (TB): Unconfirmed

Current odds:

New York Rangers: (+167)

Tampa Bay Lightning: (-200)

• While the host Tampa Bay Lightning head into Saturday’s Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals looking to repeat history, the New York Rangers are attempting to experience deja vu of their own.The Lightning, who hold a 3-2 lead in the series, can claim an 11th consecutive playoff series and reach the Stanley Cup Final with the opportunity to win a third consecutive championship.

• Even though they’re facing a Herculean task, the Rangers have one advantage going for them: They have trailed 3-2 in all three rounds this year and are 5-0 when facing elimination.

• The Rangers won the first two games of the series and were within a period of moving that to a 3-0 series edge. But suddenly they have lost three in a row to the Lightning, the latest a 3-1 comeback in which Ondrej Palat netted Tampa Bay’s game-winning goal with 1:50 remaining in regulation.

• The Lightning have all the momentum along with home-ice advantage heading into Saturday’s clash, but don’t expect the Rangers to pack it in. Notably, Game 7 would be back in New York’s Madison Square Garden.

• The winner of the series will face the Colorado Avalanche in the Stanley Cup Final, with the first two games in Denver. If Tampa Bay closes out the Rangers on Saturday, the finals will start Wednesday night. If the Rangers can force a Game 7 on Tuesday, the finals will start next Saturday.

• The Lightning, who snapped New York’s eight-game home winning streak on Thursday, have won six straight home games. Two of their three wins this round have come on late goals by Palat, who became the first player in NHL history to score a playoff game-winning goal in the last two minutes twice in the same year. The Lightning also scored a late winner against the Florida Panthers last round.

• The Lightning have an 8-2 record of closing out a series that they lead 3-2. The Rangers have a 7-19 mark when trailing by that margin. Teams that win Game 5 to take a 3-2 lead in Stanley Cup playoffs have gone on to win the series 78.5 percent of the time (223-61).

• The Lightning could get a boost from the return of center Brayden Point, who has been sidelined since Game 7 of the first-round series with a lower-body injury. Cooper said Point will be a game-time decision if he is able to participate in warm-ups.