bolasiar.eu.org, The city of New York - New York It was no surprise that the New York Rangers were pumped up for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference playoffs after their Game 7 triumph against the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday. After a month-long absence from the ice, Tampa Bay's Lightning returned for their first game since beating the Florida Panthers 5-3 back on May 23.
The Rangers' 6-2 win against the Lightning on Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden was a result of their respective layoffs, which were evident in their 1-0 series lead.
"For us, there was a great deal of sharpness. As we had discussed, our team was able to persevere. A day off, a game, and excellent results for us tonight made it a fantastic day for us "Gerard Gallant, the coach of the New York Rangers, stated this. "They looked a little shaky tonight, as expected. Due to the fact that they had nine days off, they weren't the same. It's a significant change."
The rustiness was also remarked by Jon Cooper, his equal.
"As the game progressed, we began to lose interest. This was the first time in a long that we had gotten together to play a game "he explained. "That, however, is not an excuse from our end. I award the Rangers a perfect score for their performance today."
There was no attempt by the Lightning players to exploit their absence from the ice as an excuse for their poor defensive performance either.
Lightning captain Steven Stamkos stated, "We clearly didn't have our best." "It's what it is. That's not an excuse we're going to use. We need to improve."
A goalie showdown was expected between Andrei Vasilevskiy of the Lightning, who was named playoff MVP for the back-to-back Stanley Cup champions last summer, and Igor Shesterkin of the Rangers, who is likely to earn the league's highest goaltending award, the Vezina Trophy.
A single game against the Rangers was more than Vasilevskiy had allowed in his previous five games combined.
Chris Kreider's tenth goal of the season came on a Tampa Bay error only 1:11 into regulation, and the pressure was on the Lightning from the get-go. Then, with 7:18 left in the opening period, Stamkos snatched an equalizer.
"Achieving the first objective is a pain. On the other hand, I believed we had recovered nicely "'Cooper replied,' "However, I believe that we performed better tonight than we had in the previous two rounds. There are several exciting players on the Rangers. It doesn't matter how much you give them; they'll take it all."
In the second period, forward Frank Vatrano dashed back to stop a Lightning odd-man rush and then sent a shot over Vasilevskiy to give the Penguins a 1-0 advantage. Ondrej Palat scored only 42 seconds later to put the Lightning back on level terms. Rangers' "Kid Line" scored twice in the span of five minutes to put New York up for good. Filip Chytil scored twice in the playoffs, the first at 10:09 of the first period and the second at 15:43 of the second, beating Vasilevskiy with a snap shot.
They didn't let up in the third, scoring first on Artemi Panarin's 30 second shot and then on Mika Zibanejad's ninth goal of these playoffs on the penalty play to take control.
Cooper praised Gallant's team, saying, "Turk's got them moving." In the playoffs, "they didn't get there by chance."
When asked if the Rangers are a different squad than what his club faced during the regular season, Tampa Bay defenseman Victor Hedman answered they are.
"Yes, to a degree. a solid defense, and some new additions that we haven't seen in their jerseys make them a formidable team "he stated.
Before the NHL trade deadline, the Lightning and Rangers last met on March 19. Andrew Copp and Tyler Motte, as well as Justin Braun on defense, have all joined the Rangers since then. The "Kid Line" is one of the Rangers' postseason line combinations that has worked well.
"They're on the move, you know. They were optimistic going into tonight's game after their great win against Carolina. That was predicted "Hedman made the statement.
When it came to the Rangers in Game 1, Cooper acknowledged the changes, but he credited the victory to "known names."
"They've created a few ads to promote the book. They've got a solid group of players "he explained. As he pointed out, "But it was still all the players who have been around here for a long time who had their fingerprints on the scoresheet."
Nikita Kucherov, Hedman, and Brandon Hagel were all left off the Lightning's scoresheet. When they beat the Panthers in round two, they didn't look anything like they did that night. It's not the first time they've gotten off to a bad start, according to Cooper.
"It's time for the first game of the season. This is nothing new for us. We've won series despite losing the opener and series victories despite losing the opener "he stated.
On Friday night, New York City will host Game 2 of the series.