New York Rangers Seize Two Game Lead Over Tampa Bay Lightning

From the desk: RAISE GRESCHNER WITH THE GREATS

EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS

GAME TWO

Lightning   2

Rangers     4

FINAL

Into Enemy Territory, They Go

Pack your sunscreen!  

It's on to Tampa Bay for games three and four.  Life is different down there.  Expect changes.  The Bolts are the defending two-time Stanley Cup champions.  That means something.  Exactly what remains to be seen.  But rest assured, a two-game series lead means little unless you finish.

That being said, the Rangers appear to be getting better with each passing game and have yet to reach their peak.  Their stars are shining brightly, the kids are improving with every shift, and the blueliners are performing very well.  

In case anyone forgot, Carolina was the stingiest regular-season team in hockey, not the Lightning.  The Rangers jumped that hurdle.  After the Hurricanes, you guessed it, the Rangers yielded the second-fewest goals.

Speaking of which, the opposition would have even fewer goals if not for Ryan Lindgren, who has now tipped three pucks past Igor Shesterkin.  Nikita Kucherov's shot at 2:41 of the first period was a frisbee until tipped by Lindgren.  Afterwhich the puck toppled end over end until it found the back of the net.  Corey Perry never touched it.  However, that Tampa Bay power-play opportunity should never have been.  Ryan Reaves and Pat Maroon should have been sent to the box, or none of them, not just Reaves. 

But the resilient Rangers answered right back.  K'Andre Miller tied the game at the 5:59 mark on a setup from Chris Kreider.  The shot was initially blocked by Brandon Hagel.  But Miller secured his own rebound and scored on Andrei Vasilevskiy's glove side.  

It's good to see K'Andre's efforts rewarded for such brilliant defensive play throughout the playoffs.  Miller and the blueliners have been stellar.  Jacob Trouba laid another big hit, this time to Anthony Cirelli.  Adam Fox continues to be the master of puck possession and movement, and all you need to do with Ryan Lindgren is wind him up and see him go.

The Kid Line once again announced their presence with authority.  With time winding down in the first period, Kaapo Kakko tipped in a perfect feed from Adam Fox, giving the Rangers a 2-1 lead.  Filip Chytil also assisted in the play.  The kids created numerous other scoring opportunities.

After a scoreless second period, Tampa committed one of the cardinal sins of hockey by allowing a goal inside the first two minutes of the third period.  At the 1:21 mark, Mika Zibanejad scored from the left wing, beating Vasilevskiy once again high on his blocker side.  Chris Kreider registered his second assist.  It was the game's decisive goal as Nicholas Paul scored at 17:58 to bring the Bolts within one.

Igor Shesterkin was the hero, again, stopping 29 of 31 shots.  He is by far outclassing Andrei Vasilevskiy in the net.

Hello Sunshine State ... and all the relocated New Yorkers and retirees just waiting to don their Rangers jerseys and storm Amalie Arena.