The Tampere derby has a one-sided feel to it, as Ilves won 3-2 against Tappara in what was their second designated home match of the series being played entirely at the Nokia Arena.
Jarko Parikka opened the scoring in the 10th minute when his shot from a tight angle found its way through the crowd and into the top corner, then John Nyberg put Ilves in control early in the second period with a one-timer.
Tappara hit back soon after through Olli Tuolevi's long range strike, but breathing space was restored in the second minute of the final period when Lukas Svejkovsky found a way through the defence before his shot squeezed past Filip Lindberg.
Aapeli Rasanen added a consolation late on, but Tappara must now win four games running to keep their season alive, the first of which will be on Wednesday, when Ilves will be eyeing a series sweep.
Lukko are also one win away from a Semi-Finals place after they recorded a third comfortable victory over Vaasan Sport, 5-1 in Rauma.
Jakob Stenqvist had time to take aim and fire the hosts ahead on a powerplay in the 10th minute, before space opened up for Steven Jandric to double the lead after 18 minutes.
The two-goal advantage lasted all of 27 seconds, as Linus Andersson pulled one back for Sport.
But that was as good as it got for the visitors, who conceded an Antoine Morand goal late in the second period.
A fine individual goal from Lenni Hamalainen made it 4-1 in the third period, before Henri Ikonen rounded off the scoring late on.
Game four takes place in Vaasan tomorrow, where Sport must completely reverse their fortunes to keep the series alive.
After defeat in game one, KalPa now lead 2-1 after three against Assat thanks to a 4-1 victory in Kuopio.
A neat finish under pressure by Juuso Maenpaa gave the home side the lead after just 19 seconds, before Patrick Curry took advantage of a powerplay to increase the lead 11 minutes in.
In the second period, the Aces were back in the game after Roope Talaja forced the puck home from close range, only for Tuomas Salmela to restore the two-goal cushion two minutes later.
The match was settled four minutes into the third when Maenpaa scored his second, but there was still time for 10 players to receive penalties in the 16th minute of the third period alone as multiple unsavoury incidents broke out.
Assat have the chance to get back on level terms on home ice tomorrow.
