TAMPA, Fla. -- The key to the New York Rangers' 5-1 win Friday against the Tampa Bay Lightning, evening the Eastern Conference finals at 2-2, was goalie Henrik Lundqvist returning to form with 38 saves.

But even more promising for the Rangers, as the series heads back to Madison Square Garden for Game 5 on Sunday, was the long-awaited return of scoring from stars Rick Nash and Martin St. Louis.

The two totaled two goals in the Rangers' first 15 games of the playoffs, but struck for three Friday -- two by Nash and St. Louis' first of the postseason -- offering hope that more could be on the way.

"For them to score a couple tonight, for us to finally have a little breathing room after those tight one-goal games is obviously very positive," Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said.

Lundqvist had given up six goals in each of the previous two losses, but dominated Friday, even as the Lightning outshot the Rangers by a 39-24 margin.

"Our goaltender is one of the best in the league -- Hank has done a great job, and we got some bounces tonight," Nash said. "They had some really close plays that went off our skates or missed the net, so we have to tighten up."

Lightning goalie Ben Bishop has given up five goals in back-to-back games, a first for him since 2011, but said he'll have to move on and focus on playing better in Game 5.

"It's a long season. You've got to move on -- you can't dwell on it," Bishop said. "I don't think they did anything different. We both traded chances and they capitalized on theirs, we didn't."

New York pulled away with two goals in a span of 1:48 late in the second period. Tampa Bay controlled much of the second period, holding the Rangers to one shot in the first 10 minutes, and the Lightning tied the game with 8:30 left on center Steven Stamkos' sixth goal of the playoffs and his fifth in the last six games.

Stamkos' goal tied the game, but it also seemed to spark the Rangers. Center Chris Kreider scored his seventh of the playoffs on a rebound of a shot by defenseman Kevin Klein, and with 2:56 left in the period, defenseman Keith Yandle got his first goal of the playoffs, firing a shot that would have been well wide had it not caromed off the leg of Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman and in for a 3-1 lead.

"We thought we played extremely well -- we had a lot of chances, and for whatever reason, weren't getting the bounces," said Lightning center Tyler Johnson, held to one shot after coming in with an NHL-best 12 goals in the playoffs. "That happens. We've been on the other end of that, when we came out on top when probably shouldn't have. They're a good team and you have to give them credit."

Nash opened the scoring, and St. Louis -- the longtime Lightning star -- punctuating the win with his first goal of the playoffs just 28 seconds after he took a high-stick to the head to set up a Rangers power play in the third period. Nash added a second goal late in the third, poking a rebound past Bishop, who stopped just 19 of the first 24 shots he faced.

"It's just nice to score," St. Louis said. "You have to play the game. You can't just try to get goals. Sometimes you get rewarded and tonight I did."

NOTES: Lightning D Mark Barberio made his playoff debut Friday night, stepping in for Matthew Carle, who did not dress with an undisclosed injury. Carle was injured on New York's second goal Wednesday and did not return to the game. ... Tampa Bay's power play has driven their strong playoff surge, with goals in five of the last seven games, going 12-for-28 (43 percent) during that span. ... Before Wednesday night's 6-5 Lightning win, NHL teams scoring five or more goals in playoff games had been 38-1 in the last two seasons and 63-2 in the last four. ... The Rangers had won 30 straight playoff games when scoring five or more goals, a span that covers more than 30 years, going back to April 1985.