Rangers take Game 1 and series lead with big 6-2 win

The New York Rangers are in a peculiar position.  They are actually leading in a playoff series for the first time this postseason.  Their 6-2 win was another surprise from a team that specializes in surprises.

Yes, six goals against Andrei Vasilevskiy, the world’s greatest netminder who allowed only three goals in four games to the Florida Panthers.  By the third period he was serenaded by the fans with an “Igor’s better” chant and got a derisive cheer whenever he made an easy stop.   That kind of mockery can come back to bite a team, but this night, it was all deserved.

As usual, Gerard Gallant was gracious in his comments after the game. He raised the lengthy break for the Lightning as a reason.  “There was a lot of sharpness…our team just kept going.  We had a day off.  We play a game and it really looked good for us.  They (Tampa) were a little bit rusty tonight.  They weren’t the same being nine days off.  It makes a difference.”

Tampa Jon Cooper spoke about the Rangers saying “The Rangers have some dynamic players. You give them an inch and they’ll take a mile and they did that tonight.”

It was a special game, the seventh straight win on home ice, a franchise playoff record.  Now, they run into another record.  The Lightning have won 17 straight times after a playoff loss.

Those crazy kids

The Kid Line was a difference maker and it was Filip Chytil again who chipped in with two goals.  They bring energy to the entire team.

You have to love Gallant.  After a game in which the Kid Line was absolutely fantastic with one of the best cycling shifts of the season, the coach didn’t go overboard when asked about them. “It was close to their best, it wasn’t the best for sure. They got inside, they scored some nice goals. They made some good plays. They’re attacking. They’re a confident bunch of kids right now and we need that to continue.”

Artemi Panarin, through an interpreter,  was more effusive in his praise.  “They’ve greatly improved and contributed throughout these playoff series.  They are just a joy to watch. They are a huge part of the team and I just can’t wait to see them keep going and keep moving on.”

Mika Zibanejad added,  “I’m really impressed. We need everyone. They’ve been coming up big for us.  It is fun to see.  Fil (Chytil) has been unbelievable the way he’s using his skating ability. They’re having fun, you can see and that’s a good thing for us.”

Score first and score again

The Rangers did what they needed to do, scoring on their first shot on their first shift.   There were three special plays on the goal with Frank Vatrano springing Zibanejad while getting hit, then the Swede faked a shot and made the pass to Krieder who made the perfect shot.

Steven Stamkos answered right back and shut down the crowd sending the teams to intermission tied 1-1, but the Blueshirts took it right back 7:50 into the second period on a laser wrist shot from Frank Vatrano on another great shift in the offensive zone.

Of course, these Rangers are predictable and just 42 seconds later, Ondrej Palat tied the game.  That’s when the Kid Line took over. A dominant cycling shift in the Tampa zone left Kaapo Kakko behind the net with the puck and he threaded a pass to Filip Chytil who put it past Vasilevskiy.

About three minutes later, the Kid Line played an amazing shift, keeping the puck in the Tampa zone for over two minutes before an exhausted Lightning defense left Chytil open and he one-timed a pass from K’Andre Miller into the net.

With a 4-2 lead after two periods, there was no way that Igor Shesterkin would be allowing five goals and Tampa continued their struggles.  Artemi Panarin scored 30 seconds into the third period on a two-on-one with Andrew Copp.

The final tally was a power play goal six minutes into the period on a Mika Zibanejad one-timer on a pass from Panarin.

The Rangers shut the Lightning down the rest of the game.

There was a scrum as the clock wound down after Barclay Goodrow crosschecked Brandon Hagel who had leveled Goodrow earlier in the period with questionable hit.

Ten roughing minors were handed out and Ryan Reaves was held back by the linesman so he was unable to teach Pat Maroon a lesson.

The game was kind of a statistical anomaly for the Rangers.  They won 60% of the faceoffs and they had fewer giveaways than the Lightning (23 to 28).  Tampa did win the possession battle, but not by a lot, 52.8% Corsi For to 47.2% Corsi For.  The Rangers absolutely owned the second period, outscoring the Lightning 3-1 and outshooting them 17-10.

While their offensive showing was great, much of the credit for the win has to go to Igor Shesterkin who had to make 37 saves with a number of tough stops including seven against Nikita Kucherov.

Victor Hedman hit a post just before the Rangers scored their fourth goal, so things were working well for New York.   The Rangers also stymied three Tampa power plays, a key to the victory.

Shesterkin gave the crowd a scare when he went down after getting hit by Stamkos’ stick as he was fighting for the puck.

Shesterkin was prone for a few seconds before he got up, spoke to the trainer and continued in the game, none the worse for wear.

Here’s a video recap of the game.

Friday night is a huge game for the Blueshirts.  While the Lightning have won 17 straight games after a loss and have won ten series in a row, they have never fallen behind by two games in any of those series.  The Rangers have had to come back from two game deficits twice already this season.  We know that the Rangers can climb back against seemingly insurmountable odds, but can the Lightning do it?