New York Rangers Head Back to Tampa for Game Six

From the desk: RAISE GRESCHNER WITH THE GREATS

EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS

GAME FIVE

Rangers     1

Lightning   3

FINAL

Backs to the Wall, Rangers Face Elimination, Again!

Tampa Bay has outplayed the Rangers in eight of the last nine periods.

Any remaining spots of rust have been polished over.

The Rangers look slower, a step behind, and lack sixty-minute discipline.

To be fair, they've played 19 games in 38 days, which is a lot, and it has taken the Lightning everything they have to beat them.

Nevertheless, the education of the young Rangers continues ...

These boys must first learn how to finish.  The Rangers failed to protect a two-goal lead in game three, and with 0:42 left in regulation, yielded the game-winning goal.  They once again failed to effectively close out the second period in game five, allowing the game-tying goal at the 17:34 mark, and like game three, could not push into overtime, surrendering the go-ahead goal at 18:10 of the third.

Ryan Lindgren scored the game's first goal simply because he put the puck on the net, nothing more, nothing less.  The Rangers had their chances, some better than others.  Just ask Ryan Strome.  But in truth, the Rangers are no longer making Andrei Vasilevskiy work for his saves.  They hardly drive down the slot, no passing from behind the net, and, like I've been saying, a lot of predictability.

Ryan Reaves was a healthy scratch in favor of Kevin Rooney, an apparent attempt by Coach Gallant to muster more offense.  Reaves would have proved helpful after the final whistle.  Rooney threw his body around and got off two SOGs in under ten minutes on ice.  Overall, Blueshirt centermen had ten SOGs but no points.  Only one Ranger forward, Artemi Panarin, had as many as three SOGs.

Meanwhile, the refs seem less interested in blowing their whistle these days - advantage Bolts.  Tampa handed the Rangers just one power-play opportunity midway through the second period.  Lindgren's goal aside, game five was the latest example of the Blueshirt's dearth of scoring at even strength. 

Something needs to change quickly as the Rangers head to Tampa for game six.

If the first two rounds demonstrated anything, the Rangers played exceptionally well when faced with elimination - three straight must-win games against Pittsburgh, two against Carolina, and here we go again against Tampa.  But can the Rangers pull it off, again, against the defending back-to-back Stanley Cup champions?

That's a lot of noise!

We all know what needs to be done.  

Some better luck wouldn't hurt.

Otherwise, I expect all the New York City transplants and retirees to don their jerseys and make a ruckus at Amalie Arena.