New York Rangers Tackle Tampa Bay Lightning in Game Five

What you should know going into Game Five.

New York Rangers vs. Tampa Bay Lightning

Eastern Conference Final – 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs

When: Sunday, May 24, 2015
Time: 8:00 p.m. ET
Where: Madison Square Garden – New York, NY
Broadcast: NBCSN, CBC, TVA Sports

With the series tied up at 2-2, there are a few things you should know going into tonight’s game. They are as follows:

1) Continue To Believe

In order for the Rangers to continue to perform at the same level they have over the past few months, we as fans have to continue to believe in them. If you will be at the Garden tonight please, let them know we all stand behind them. Get that “Let’s Go Rangers” chant going loud and proud. That continued positive energy only breathes fire in them, especially at home.

2) They Are Back

Rick Nash was able to finally prove he is not lost in these playoffs. Scoring not one, but two goals in Game Four, he was finally able to break free of the goal slump he so desperately needed to crawl out of. Not only did he net two goals, he also offered up an assist, five shots and three hits. We can only hope that there is more where that came from tonight.

New York Rangers

Martin St. Louis also was finally able to silence the booing from the Lightning, and some Rangers fans as well, scoring his first goal of the playoffs shortly after taking a high-stick to the face. When that puck hit the back of the net, you could see the relief spread over his face, along with the blood dripping off his nose that the refs apparently didn’t see when they issued only two minutes to Nikita Nesterov.

Henrik Lundqvist received his fair share of negative thinking over the past few days as well. Yes, he allowed 12 goals in two games. If you focus on that alone and the fact we lost two games, of course it looked like the Rangers were doomed. Put that in a different perspective though; that was 12 goals out of 66 shots. He made 18 saves in the second period alone on Friday. Not only that, the Rangers were able to score five goals total in Game Three. Even though they lost that game, it had to feel good that they were able to keep up. It’s not like they lost 1-5.

3) The Rangers Are Good

Sometimes when watching these games it’s easy to get caught up in what isn’t working for the team. Tonight, let’s keep the focus on what the Rangers are doing right. We may not have “triplets,” but we have something better. We have a solid team that encourages ALL the Rangers to contribute when others aren’t there yet. The Rangers ARE a good team. They continue to prove it to us. We just have to keep believing. Let’s Go Rangers!

Next: Girardi Deserves a Lesser Role

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