As they usually do in a crucial game, the Lightning were nearly flawless defensively in Game 4 of their series against the New York Rangers on Tuesday night. in Tampa Bay. The two-time champions prevailed 4-1 to tie the Eastern Conference Finals, 2-2.
Updated yesterday at 11:38 p.m.
The Lightning are reminiscent of the New York Islanders of the early 1980s, a team that was able to win in many different ways. Like the Islanders of that era, who won four Stanley Cups and 19 straight series from 1980 to 1984, the Lightning have it all.
First there is a goalkeeper who is almost always at his best in key matches. The Lightning obviously didn’t want to show up for the 5e game in the series at Madison Square Garden down 3-1. Andrei Vasilevskiy made sure that would not be the case.
When he’s at the top of his game, Vasilevskiy has good puck control and very few return shots. Rangers had a few good scoring chances in the slot, but second chances were almost non-existent on Tuesday night.
The Lightning defenders, on the other hand, played it safe for most of the game… except for Zach Bogosian. Known for his shouldering and playing in his own territory, Bogosian went on the attack a few times in the first period, and it was thanks to his recklessness that the Lightning opened the scoring. Pat Maroon completed the game after a Bogosian come-up.
After this goal scored by the fourth line, the offensive stars of the Lightning took over. As they had done in the last minute of the 3e game, Nikita Kucherov and Ondrej Palat joined forces to give the Lightning a 2-0 lead, only this time it was Palat who had a nice pass to allow Kucherov to score his 7e series.
Photo Chris O’Meara, Associated Press
Nikita Kucherov beats goalkeeper Igor Shesterkin.
The complicity between Palat and Kucherov is not new, they who completed a trio with Tyler Johnson when they arrived in Tampa Bay eight years ago. At the time, some pundits seemed to believe that Kucherov was the worst of these three players, but hey, let’s move on…
Steven Stamkos scored his 7e series in turn at the start of the third, then Palat completed the scoring in an empty net. Palat collected three points.
It was when they were down 3-0 and had the power play that Rangers finally beat Vasilevskiy. Artemi Panarin scored with 3:33 left in regulation time. A goal which made the last minutes of play a little more exciting, minutes which at the same time gave us the opportunity to see Ryan McDonagh, Anthony Cirelli and Nick Paul, among others, excel in defense.
Julien BriseBois built his fourth line before the start of the season by hiring Corey Perry and Pierre-Édouard Bellemare to join Maroon. When the general manager wanted to add depth to his offense, he acquired Nick Paul from the Ottawa Senators and Brandon Hagel from the Chicago Blackhawks.
Paul is having a great playoff run. A tough and imposing opponent (6 ft 3 in and 220 lb) who excels defensively, he has three goals and four assists since the start of the tournament. He could get full autonomy next month, and demand for his services would be great if he does. Paul is only 27 years old.
It’s more difficult in the case of Brandon Hagel. The Lightning sacrificed two first picks to get it and they are slow to produce offensively. He scored only one goal and has only 4 points in 15 playoff games.
A light player (5 ft 11 in and 175 lbs) who often struggles to protect the disc, Hagel missed a few golden chances during the playoffs. The 23-year-old shot wide with the net wide open.
But failing to produce on the scoresheet, Hagel threw the gloves past Frank Vatrano on Tuesday night, which surely earned him points with his teammates. It is not because of a lack of effort or involvement that he is slow to establish himself with the Lightning.
And the Rangers, in all this? After losing their second center Ryan Strome in the previous game, they lost their third, Filip Chytil, on Tuesday. It thickens. And there’s no doubt the pressure will be on their shoulders Thursday night.