It is do-or-die time yet again for the New York Rangers.
After a tough loss in Game Five at Madison Square Garden, the Rangers now face their sixth elimination game of the playoffs as they head back to Tampa for Game Six against the Lightning.
Despite being 5-0 in win-or-go-home games this postseason, the Blueshirts face their toughest test yet against the reigning back-to-back Stanley Cup Champions. After a slow start to the series, the Lightning have dominated the last three games.
They’ve outscored the Rangers 10-4 on their way to winning three straight, and they have the wealth of postseason experience and the intangibles needed to close out this series on home ice tonight.
However, if there’s one thing we’ve learned over the last month or so it’s that you can’t count out these Rangers, and there’s no reason why they can’t improve to 6-0 in elimination games and force a Game Seven back at Madison Square Garden.
If they are to live to fight another day, though, here’s the three keys they will need to win on the road for the first time in the Eastern Conference Finals…
Igor to the rescue
You don’t win championships without great goaltending, and the Rangers won’t stay alive unless they get another heroic performance from Igor Shesterkin.
Period.
Shesterkin has elevated his game to the next level throughout the playoffs, truly cementing his status as one of the best young goalies in the National Hockey League.
However, the Vezina Trophy finalist is going to have to dig deep and find another gear in order to out-duel Andrei Vasilevskiy and help his team force a Game Seven.
It helps that Shesterkin has come up clutch in all five of the Rangers’ elimination wins this postseason; giving up just 13 goals on 186 shots and not allowing his save percentage to dip below .906.
He’s going to have to be even more locked in tonight given that the Lightning will look to get pucks to the net from the first drop of the puck. Amalie Arena will be up for grabs and Shesterkin will have to be ready for a busy night.
After a shaky opening two games to the Eastern Conference Finals, in which the Rangers figured out a weak point by shooting upstairs, Vasilevskiy has recovered and has been clutch for the Bolts in the past three games.
He’s allowed just four goals on a combined 90 shots in that three-game span, while he came up with a number of big saves in the Lightning’s Game Five win.
This series was always going to revolve around the elite showdown between two of the game’s premier netminders in Vasilevskiy and Shesterkin, and the latter must win this latest battle if the Rangers are to live to fight another day in this war of attrition.