the two-time defending champion Lightning won 3-2 Friday night to prevent the Colorado Avalanche for clinching the Stanley Cup on home ice.
Instead, the series will switch back to Tampa's Amalie Arena on Sunday (8 p.m. ET, ABC), with the Avalanche still holding a 3-2 series lead.
"You're down in the series, the Cup's in the building, a great environment for the home team and how do you show gamesmanship?
You do everything they just did," Lightning coach Jon Cooper told reporters about his team's effort.
The Lightning got a 35-save performance from goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy, another clutch goal from Ondrej Palat, a rare goal from Jan Rutta and a rare power-play goal to edge Colorado.
"We talked about it today that we didn't have a choice," captain Steven Stamkos said.
"This was do-or-die for us. Sometimes, you get caught looking ahead a little bit and this group did a great job of focusing on the present."
The Avalanche were even called for a too many men on the ice penalty late in the game, forcing them to defend rather than press for the tying goal.