Game 2 another real acid test for the New York Rangers

Game Two of the Eastern Conference Finals will provide the New York Rangers with yet another tough examination.

There’s tangible hope in The Big Apple that something special is brewing at Madison Square Garden right now in the wake of the Blueshirts’ big 6-2 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game One on Wednesday night.

It was as impressive as it was unexpected, and it was yet another example of why this Rangers team could actually get their hands on the Stanley Cup this summer.

However, while the Rangers emphatically proved with one wild swing that they can take down the reigning two-time Stanley Cup champions, it is worth pumping the brakes a little bit heading into Game Two.

For starters, every single team that has had the honor to lift Lord Stanley will tell you that there are plenty of road blocks on the way to ultimate glory. That’s why the NHL postseason is such a gruelling and taxing war of attrition.

The Lightning know that better than most having first navigated and survived the Bubble to win their first championship since 2004, before managing to keep the band together and rediscovering the motivation to win a second straight ring last year.

That is no easy feat, especially in the salary cap era, and that’s why Tampa won’t be fazed after being blown out in Game One. They’ve been here before, they’ve been knocked down plenty in the playoffs and their battle-hardened core have the scars and the rings to prove it.

You don’t win back-to-back Cups without having to face some adversity and then respond to it, so the Lightning will be extra motivated to come out swinging tonight and the Rangers will have to be prepared to deal with an early and relentless fightback.

After all, Tampa Bay won 17 of its last 17 playoff games after a loss.

Secondly, while much has been made of the fact that Andrei Vasilevskiy was run out of the building on Wednesday, it would be foolish to not expect a bounce-back from the best goalie in the NHL right now.

Yes, Igor Shesterkin drew first blood in the battle of the two stud netminders in Game One but, much like his team, Vasilevskiy has been here before and even the very best have off-nights.

Granted, as our very own Steve Paulus pointed out here, Vasilevskiy is 3-5-2 in his career against the Rangers with a .903 Save Percentage (Sv%) and a 2.98 goals-against-average, while Game One proved that he is beatable.

However, the legend of playoff Vasilevskiy is real given that he owns a sparkling .924 Sv% and a 2.28 GAA in the postseason, so the Rangers will need to ensure they once again get pucks on net early and create plenty of traffic in front of net.

If they don’t, it could prove to be a long night if Vasilevskiy is able to make a few big saves early and get locked in.

The other factor at play here is experience. While the Rangers have been fearless all postseason and are hard to kill no matter the situation, again, this Lightning team knows what it takes to win in the heat of battle and they have a plethora of players on their roster who have all scaled the mountain top recently in order to win a cup.

Playoff hockey is all about fine margins and the Lightning know how to claw at the inches at play, much better than the Rangers who are in the midst of their first dance together.

As a result, the opening 10 minutes of Game Two will be crucial in determining whether the Rangers can take a 2-0 series lead to Tampa, or whether they will have to settle for heading south with a split.

Start fast as they did in Game One and Game Two will be theirs for the taking but, if they are dragged into a dogfight, then that could play right in the hands of the Lightning who will relish a scrappy battle given they have plenty of those under their belts.

Whatever happens, though, tonight will pose yet another real acid test for this young Rangers team, one that could yet again define this entire wild postseason journey that has already surpassed all possible expectations.

Fail it and there’s still five games in which to prove something in this series. Pass it, however, and the wider hockey world may just have to start seriously considering the Rangers as legit Stanley Cup contenders.