WASHINGTON (AP) Victor Hedman figured all the Tampa Bay Lightning needed to get back on track was a shift in momentum.The big defenseman took it upon himself to provide it.Hedman scored his first goal of the playoffs and added two assists Adidas Michael Grabner Jersey , and Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 36 of 38 shots to help the Lightning beat the Washington Capitals 4-2 in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference final Tuesday night and cut their series deficit to 2-1. Hedman had the primary assist on power-play goals by Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov and was a key part of three big penalty kills for Tampa Bay.”I’m put in a position to produce, and I put that pressure on myself to do it,” said Hedman, who has a goal and 10 assists during an eight-game point streak. ”For me, it’s about being effective at all ends of the ice and trying to be a difference-maker every time I step on it.”Hedman was dominant all over the ice as Tampa Bay looked like an entirely different team than the one that lost the first two games of the series at home and now has a chance to tie it in Game 4 on Thursday. The Norris Trophy finalist who played a team-high 25:08 was most proud of successful penalty kills.”He’s a perennial Norris guy,” Stamkos said of Hedman. ”We can’t describe how good he is out there. We rely on him a ton, he’s a horse and most nights if he’s going well, we’re going well as a team. Another big effort for him tonight, and you could see we all followed suit.”It wasn’t perfect Adidas Marian Hossa Jersey , but it was a more complete effort from Tampa Bay, which jumped out to a 3-0 lead before Brett Connolly answered for Washington in the second. Brayden Point’s goal less than five minutes later allowed the Atlantic Division champions to play with a comfortable lead that survived Evgeny Kuznetsov’s 6-on-5 goal with 3:02 remaining.Vasilevskiy was a big part of holding on to the lead as he made seven saves on the penalty kill as part of a bounce-back performance after being criticized for his play earlier in the series. It wasn’t perfect, but the Lightning began to make it up to Vasilevskiy for hanging him out to dry on so many odd-man rushes in Games 1 and 2 by improving their defensive-zone play.”We always feel like we owe him,” defenseman Anton Stralman said. ”He’s our best player. He’s always there, he’s always there for us and tonight we did a good job in front of him. I think that gives him some confidence, too, that he knows we’re on and that’s the way it should be.”The Capitals outshot the Lightning 38-23 but didn’t help goaltender Braden Holtby with six minor penalties. Holtby allowed four goals but was helpless on the one-timers on the power play by Stamkos and Kucherov – the 10th and 11th Tampa Bay power-play goals over a streak of seven games with at least one.”We know both teams have pretty good special teams, and if we’re going to play like that, they’re going to use it Adidas Chris Wagner Jersey ,” said Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin, who combined with Kuznetsov to put 21 shots on net. ”Obviously, you can see we didn’t score, they scored.”Tampa Bay got two injury scares in the third period when Stamkos hobbled off after taking a slap shot from teammate Braydon Coburn in the right knee and Tyler Johnson was cross-checked by Michal Kempny. Each returned minutes later.Sporting an ice pack on his right knee, Stamkos said it was just a stinger and that he was fine. He wants the Lightning to be feeling better but not too good still down 2-1.”We haven’t done anything yet,” Stamkos said. ”The goal is to win a championship, but you can’t look too far ahead. We’ve made it a series.”NOTES: C Lars Eller took three of Washington’s six penalties. … With his 10th career power-play goal, Stamkos tied Martin St. Louis for Tampa Bay’s playoff record. … Injured C Nicklas Backstrom (right hand) took part in the Capitals’ morning skate but missed his fourth consecutive game. Coach Barry Trotz continues to call Backstrom day-to-day. … Trotz set a franchise record by coaching his 54th playoff game with Washington.— NEW YORK (AP) The Minnesota Wild have been thriving lately on the road to keep pace in the Central Division. After smothering the Rangers 4-1, they completed a three-game sweep in the New York area.Mikael Granlund and Eric Staal each scored twice and Devan Dubnyk made 22 saves in the Wild’s victory over the free-falling New York Rangers on Friday night. The Wild also beat the Islanders on Monday night and New Jersey on Thursday night.”Well Adidas Joakim Nordstrom Jersey , it obviously means getting six points, but we have never done that before,” Wild coach Bruce Boudreau said. ”Anytime you do something you haven’t done before, it’s pretty cool.”The Rangers lost for the sixth straight time in regulation. New York is 6-17-0 since beating Buffalo in the Winter Classic on Jan. 1.”In my mind, we worked hard. We just weren’t able to make the plays that we needed to make to get something out of that,” Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said.Granlund opened the scoring for Minnesota at 16:06 of the first period after Staal intercepted a terrible breakout pass attempt by Rangers defenseman Anthony DeAngelo. Staal passed to Granlund, who easily put the puck past rookie netminder Alexandar Georgiev.Georgiev played his second NHL game after making his debut Thursday night in a 3-1 loss at Montreal.Staal made it 2-0 at 18:43. The goal was originally credited to Granlund but was changed to Staal late in the third period.The Rangers narrowed the deficit to 2-1 when Jesper Fast scored his ninth of the season at 2:41 of the second.Staal made it 3-1 for the visitors 52 seconds into the third period with a power-play goal – his team-leading 29th – of the season. Defenseman Ryan Suter and Granlund had assists.Eric Staal had a short stint with the Rangers two seasons ago, joining his brother Marc in New York but only recording only three goals in 20 games and none in the playoffs.”There’s always motivation every night,” Eric Staal said. ”You always want to prove yourself. Tonight was one of those nights we caught them with some great plays and we were fortunate to be able to capitalize.”Granlund Timothy Liljegren Jersey Womens , made it 4-1 at 9:22 of the third with his 17th goal of the season.”Obviously, it’s always nice to score,” said the 25-year-old Finnish forward who was drafted ninth overall by the Wild in 2010. ”It’s nice to get some offense going.”Minnesota is 6-1-2 in its last eight games. The Wild are in playoff position in a tight Central Division race.Rangers forward Rick Nash didn’t dress for the second straight game. The 33-year-old Nash, whose contract expires after this season, is expected to be traded by Monday’s deadline.He has 18 goals and 10 assists this season and is one point shy of 800 for his career. Nash scored against the Flyers in last Sunday’s 7-4 home loss. He was also a healthy scratch for Thursday’s loss at Montreal.The Rangers traded forward Michael Grabner – their leading goal scorer – to the Devils late Thursday after sending defenseman Nick Holden to the Boston Bruins earlier in the week.The Rangers are facing late-season games without playoff-race meaning for the first time since 2004 when they also made numerous deadline trades. They have only missed the playoffs once since 2005-06, in 2010 when the Rangers missed out on the last day of the season in a shootout loss at Philadephia.”We’re in a results-oriented business,” Vigneault added. ”The effort and preparation is there. We just have to stay with it.”NOTES: Forward Chris Kreider returned for the Rangers after missing 24 games with blood clot in right arm. Kreider last played Dec. 27 against Washington. … The Wild are 4-7-0 at Madison Square Garden … Minnesota scratched forward Chris Stewart and defensemen Jonas Brodin and Gustav Olofsson … The Rangers continued to be without injured defensemen Kevin Shattenkirk, Ryan McDonagh and Steven Kampfer.UP NEXT:Wild: Host San Jose on Sunday night.Rangers: Host Detroit on Sunday night.