INSIDE THE MATCHUPS
The Rangers are in the endgame now as one of the final four teams vying for the Stanley Cup. To get a chance to actually compete for Lord Stanley, however, they’ll have to get through the reigning back-to-back champions, the Lightning.
After skating in two series that went seven games, the Rangers have had just one day in between the end of their second-round triumph over the Hurricanes and the start of their first Eastern Conference Final appearance in seven years. Tampa Bay, on the other hand, finished off a four-game sweep of its second-round series with the Panthers on May 23, had two days off and have been gearing up since then. If facing the most dominant club in the league right now wasn’t enough, the Rangers will be squaring off with the most well-rested version of the Lightning. It was going to be a mighty task no matter what, but the Rangers will certainly have their hands full in this one.
The Post’s Mollie Walker takes a look at how the teams match up:
GOALTENDING
This is far and away the most compelling goaltender matchup of the entire playoffs. You’ve got an established, lightsout veteran netminder in the Lightning’s Andrei Vasilevskiy on one end, and on the other an up-and-coming goalie in Igor Shesterkin who has taken the NHL by storm since he was called up just three seasons ago. There’s no doubt Vasilevskiy is a proven winner. He has been the most consistent at his position for so long and has collected rings in the process. Overcoming Vasilevskiy will be the biggest challenge for the Rangers, who at times had trouble with Penguins third-string netminder Louis Domingue in Round 1 and the Hurricanes’ backup goalie, Antti Raanta, in Round 2.
That being said, the only other goalie who could maybe go save-for-save with Vasilevskiy is Shesterkin.
Shesterkin has a chance to prove he is in the same class as Vasilevskiy. He will be up against a high-powered Lightning offense that can bury teams in a single period. This is where legacies are made, and Shesterkin will have his moment to do so.
OFFENSE
Even without top-line center
Brayden Point, who suffered a lower-body injury in Tampa Bay’s Game 7 victory over the Maple Leafs in Round 1 and hasn’t played since, the Lightning seemingly haven’t missed a beat offensively. They’ve averaged 3.27 goals per game this postseason, while the Rangers aren’t far behind at 3.23.
The Lightning’s top-six forward group is stacked with the likes of Steven
Stamkos, Nikita Kucherov, Anthony
Cirelli, Ondrej Palat and Alex Killorn.
Plus, they have a hard fourth line that features Patrick Maroon and Jan Rutta, which has provided some secondary scoring this postseason.
The Rangers have a top-heavy lineup as well, but the biggest difference is that players like Artemi Panarin and Chris
Kreider haven’t consistently produced in these playoffs. Mika Zibanejad has progressively improved throughout and the Kid Line of Alexis Lafreniere, Filip
Chytil and Kaapo Kakko has brought the same energy every game. However, it’s going to take more than that to outscore the Lightning.
DEFENSE
Tampa Bay currently has the lowest goals-against average among teams still in the dance at 2.45 goals per game, while the Rangers have given up
3.08 per game. Similar to the Hurricanes, the Lightning have such strong defensive numbers because they are playing with the puck more often than not.
It’s worth mentioning that the Rangers’
Adam Fox leads all NHL defensemen this postseason in points with 16
and in assists with 12. The reigning Norris Trophy winner is also tied with the Avalanche’s Devon Toews for the league lead in playoff goals with four. Jacob Trouba has had an up-and-down postseason, while his D partner K’Andre Miller has been consistently effective on the defensive end. Ryan Lindgren has also been a warrior.
One of the most offensively talented defenseman in the NHL belongs to the Lightning. His name is Victor Hedman. And the rest of the Lightning’s top four defensemen — Erik Cernak, Ryan McDonagh and Zach Bogosian — have been sturdy as well.
SPECIAL TEAMS
The Rangers had higher power-play and penaltykill percentages than the Lightning during the regular season. While everyone says the regular season doesn’t matter, the disparity has continued into the playoffs for the most part. The Rangers are 13-for-40 (32.5 percent) on the power play since the postseason began and Tampa Bay is 11-for-48 (22.9 percent). The Lightning have had better penalty-kill numbers, having only allowed five powerplay goals in the 41 times they have been shorthanded. The Rangers have given up just three more than that in the same number of penalty kills.
The Rangers’ power play has been a key part of their success this entire season, however, and it’s seemingly heating up at the right time. Tampa Bay was one of the highestpenalized teams in the league during the regular season. If the Rangers can exploit that, special teams could be an
X factor for them.
COACHING
As head coach of the Lightning, Jon Cooper has missed the playoffs only once in nine full seasons, has led Tampa Bay to the Stanley Cup Final three times and won it all the last two seasons. He’s led the Lightning back to the Eastern Conference Final despite notable personnel changes in the offseason and still has his team competing the same way. He’s the proven winner in this matchup, but head coach Gerard Gallant has played a major role in the Rangers’ emergence as a legitimate contender.