NEW YORK -- Tampa Bay Lightning center Steven Stamkos was asked Friday morning about the New York Rangers' flawless record in Game 7s.

Stamkos said as impressive as it was -- the Rangers had won six straight Game 7s since 2012 and had never lost at Madison Square Garden in a Game 7 in franchise history entering the final game of the Eastern Conference finals -- that none of those wins had come against the Lightning.

When the horn sounded on Game 7 on Friday night, Stamkos' statement from the morning was still true.

Left wingers Alex Killorn and Ondrej Palat scored in the third period and goaltender Ben Bishop stopped 22 shots as the Lightning clinched a spot in the Stanley Cup finals with a 2-0 victory over the Rangers at MSG.

The Lightning are back in the finals for the first time since 2004 and will face the winner of the Western Conference final between the Chicago Blackhawks and Anaheim Ducks, which concludes Saturday night.

The Rangers had all the experience -- this was their third conference finals appearance in four years -- and the Lightning were participating for the first time since 2011. Yet it was the Lightning that played at a steady, defensively sound pace in a building where the Rangers had won 10 straight elimination games.

"We've just kind of got that group," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. "I don't know if we're young and dumb and don't know any better or ... it's hard to explain.

"I've watched this team get pushed against the wall. But they just answer the challenge."

The Lightning had a chance to close the series at home in Game 6 but were humbled in a 7-3 loss that saw Bishop yanked after allowing five goals. Just as he did in this building in Game 5, Bishop put forth an efficient effort for his second shutout of the series.

Bishop allowed 15 goals in three games at home, making this one of the wilder and more unpredictable conference finals in recent memory.

"The whole series has been somewhat of a roller coaster," Lightning defenseman Anton Stralman said. "Both teams gave up a lot of goals, scoring a lot of goals, and then we had two shutouts in huge games. Just the way we step up in these big games and lay it out there...we played so well defensively. It shows a lot of growth."

Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist had his six-game winning streak in Game 7s snapped, but he did what he could as he team failed to provide any offensive support.

He made three outstanding stops during the second period, flashing a left pad to deny right winger Nikita Kucherov, using his catching glove to stop a back-door chance from defenseman Jason Garrison and flexing his right leg to halt a wide-open look from center Tyler Johnson from just outside the crease.

But 1:54 into the third period, a seemingly harmless backhander from Killorn slithered through bodies in the front of the net and between Lundqvist's pads for the only goal the Lightning would need.

"I think we all felt that the next goal was going to be extremely important," Lundqvist said. "Unfortunately, I never saw it until it was too late. There were just a lot of people in front of me. I felt sharp tonight. I felt like I was tracking pucks well, reading the play well, it was just one of those plays where they threw it in front and through screens."

The Rangers never really mustered much of an attack after the Killorn goal, and with 8:43 remaining, Palat made it 2-0 by snapping a shot over Lundqvist's catching glove on a 3-2 rush.

Lundqvist was pulled for an extra attacker with 3:44 remaining but there was hardly a dangerous scoring chance generated before time elapsed.

"It won't really hit you for a couple of days," said Rangers defenseman Ryan McDonagh, who didn't take his first shift until there were 13 minutes left in the first period as he was receiving treatment for a broken foot suffe