So, finally.
After facing a confederation of second- and third-string goalkeepers in their seven-game wins over the Penguins and Hurricanes, the Rangers faced a No. 1 goalie on Wednesday in the first round of the final. lecture at the Garden.
And that wasn’t just a No. 1 goalie, it was NHL No. 1 goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy of Lightning.
Guess what? The Rangers barely seemed to notice, shooting Conn Smythe winner and beating him six times with 34 shots in this 6-2 victory in the first game that gave the Blueshirts their first series lead. of the tournament.
Yes, that’s right. The Blueshirts are in a two-day mode, while Lightning and his net goalkeeper had been off since they completed their sweep of the Panthers on May 23 … a four-game sweep in which the Puddings Tats scored a total of three goals.
The Blueshirts, who scored a total of 11 goals against Carolina, took Games 6 and 7 after scoring nine goals in the first five games of the second round, 35:43 to beat the Florida total.
“I told them to open it,” joked head coach Gerard Gallant. “No, I think if you compete a lot defensively, you have chances like we did tonight, two-on-one goals and power goals.”
The Rangers celebrate their goal against Lightning goalkeeper Andrei Vasilevskiy. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
This was really as unexpected as it gets. It’s not like the Rangers have won. This should come as no surprise at this time. However, it was a surprise to see Vasilevskiy look like any other goalkeeper.
Look at this. While Igor Shesterkin had been praised for his 7-3 record, a .939 savings percentage and an average of 2.09 goals against since Game 5 of the first round, Vasilevskiy had gone 42-17 with a savings rate of .932 and 1.96 GAA starting with The first of two Tampa Bay Cup championships in 2020.
“Obviously it’s good for your confidence to score some goals,” said Mika Zibanejad, who prepared Chris Kreider for the game’s opening goal just 1:11 before adding the final goal in a play of power at the beginning of the third period. “But this was a game, there will be another Friday and we have to get the positive out of it and work on things we can improve on.”
The Rangers were lucky to overcome the first period tied 1-1 after doing too many stick checks during the first 20 minutes. But they came to their game in the second period, disturbing the walls while gaining a significant number of one-on-one and taking advantage of the time of possession of the offensive zone.
In fact, the Rangers were able to make two complete line changes while in control of the record before Filip Chytil’s second goal of the night raised the score to 4-2 at the end of the second period.
Tampa Bay had little response to either the Blueshirts marquee strikers or the Kid Line. But perhaps this is redundant. For Alexis Lafreniere-Chytil-Kaapo, the Kakko unit was once again magnetic, with Chytil increasing his total to seven goals in 15 playoff games.
During the regular season, he scored eight goals in 67 games.
You say you need a hero?
Looks like the Rangers get one every night.
Andrei Vasilevskiy scored a goal against the Rangers on Wednesday. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
Obviously, the Lightning were affected by their nine-day layoff. But all of that is part of it. Surely Tampa Bay didn’t feel the need to apologize after beating the Islanders 8-2 in the first game of the 2020 bubble semifinals in Edmonton after the New York team was forced to make a plane across the field from Toronto just a day before the game. The Islanders got their hands dirty, but were never able to catch up before losing in six games.
The much-anticipated duel between Vasilevskiy and Igor Shesterkin never materialized. Vasilevskiy did not receive much support, but he also scored some goals in the first shots without a screen. When Frank Vatrano sent a 40-footer for him from the top of the circles to break the 1-1 draw at 7:50 of the second, that represented the kind of goal Louis Domingue or Antti Raanta could have scored. were thrown.
Shesterkin, however, withstood his end of business in a 37-stop effort in which he faced 17 shots in the third period. He was inside the net and had a habit of swallowing loose discs around the fold. Nikita Kucherov made a great block, though.
The audience noticed.
Songs of “Igor is better! Igor is better!” it filled the garden.
It will take three more for the Blueshirts to advance to the Stanley Cup final. Please note that the Lightning have not lost two consecutive playoff games since Columbus eliminated them from the first round of 2019. Please note that they will not be oxidizing for the 2nd game on Friday night.
The Rangers won this one. No excuses. They scored six goals against Vasilevsky.
Who’s next?