from Dan Rosen of NHL.com,

The Tampa Bay Lightning will try to extend one of the most impressive streaks in the NHL by winning their 18th straight game following a loss in the Stanley Cup Playoffs when they play Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Final against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Friday.

The Rangers won Game 1, 6-2, at the Garden on Wednesday. But Tampa Bay has not lost back-to-back games in the playoffs since getting swept by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the first round in 2019, going 17-0 in games following a loss since 2020.

"We as a group are pretty good as self-correcting and guys, they take losses personal," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said Thursday. "[Wednesday] night especially, as deep as we are right now and kind of the way the score got out of hand, it affects the guys. But I give them credit, they self-correct. They know what works for us and what doesn't and clearly saw what didn't work for us [Wednesday] night. I can't guarantee the result, obviously, but I expect better from us."

The Rangers are ahead in a best-of-7 series for the first time this postseason.

They were down 1-0 and later 3-1 against the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round before coming back to win in seven games. They were down 2-0 and 3-2 against the Carolina Hurricanes in the second round but responded to win that series in seven games, too.

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