In back-to-back games for the first time in three years, the New York Rangers defeated theTampa Bay Lightning. There is a time and a place for it.
The Rangers beat the Lightning in the second game of the Eastern Conference finals to end the longest streak in NHL history.
After a loss in the Stanley Cup playoffs, the two-time Stanley Cup champion won 18 games in a row. The last time the Bolts were down 2-0 in a series was when they were swept by the Blue Jackets in the conference semifinals.
Steven Stamkos said, "It's been a heck of a ride in terms of responding after losses." The character of this group is shown. The trophy is the most difficult to win. There will be some adverse moments. It's definitely one of them.
The coach didn't think the end of the streak was a big deal.
He said you're going to lose two in a row in the playoffs. We haven't done that in a long time. You could say, "Hell of a job, boys." For the majority of streaks come to an end. Is it possible that it knocked us out of the playoffs. The thing didn't. We have a hill to climb. There is no doubt. I don't believe I'm saying that. I think that we have better things in common.
The players said after the game that the loss was due to poor execution. Too many west plays and not enough south plays. The Rangers had too many turnovers. The New York Rangers were able to control the puck for most of the game, before the Lightning came to life in the third.
The lack of urgency in the first two periods was not due to the fact that the players knew they could fall back on the history of the streak.
This is the first time he's talked about the streak. "No one talked about it" It has never been discussed in our group. Our team doesn't need to rely on "we don't lose two in a row."
The puck wasn't managed. Through the first all the way to the second it was egregious. It's not the game plan. The Rangers are doing something else. We didn't do that because you need to manage the puck.
The first goal of the game was scored by Nikita Kucherov. Ryan Reaves and Pat Maroon got physical off the faceoff, but only Reaves was given a penalty. The shot through the net was the fifth of the playoffs for Kucherov.
Defenseman K'Andre Miller collected his own rebound and fired the ball to the other side for the New York goal. The Rangers took a lead late in the first thanks to the "Kid Line," their trio of young stars that have powered them in the playoffs.
Fox was near the crease when the puck was passed to him. He faked a shot to Jan Rutta and then sent a perfect pass to Kaapo Kakko for a defection goal.
The Rangers had the better of the play in the second period, but couldn't add a third goal. In the third period, center Mikabanejad banked a shot off the post and behind Vasilevskiy for his ninth playoff goal. Three other players have had the longest home goal streaks in the past 30 seasons.
Nick Paul's goal at 17:58 of the third period with Vasilevskiy pulled halved the lead, but Shesterkin helped slam the door with 13 third period saves and 29 for the game.
One of the driving forces behind the streak was Vasilevskiy, who was 18-0 with a 1.49 goals-against average, a.942 save percentage and five shut outs. He has given up three goals in three games after losing in the playoffs.
The teams that have taken a 2-0 lead in a best-of-7 series have a series record of 340-53. The Rangers' victory over the Carolina Hurricanes in the previous round gave Stamkos some solace.
He said to look at the team and how they got here. In their last series. In the first round, it was down 7-1. There's a recipe there.
There is a third game in the books.
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