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In retrospect, it feels like the Lightning were being ignored entering the postseason. Which would seem difficult for a back-to-back defending champion, but there were legitimate reasons to question Tampa Bay, which was bested in point differential by both Toronto and Florida – and that was just in the Atlantic Division. Florida, especially, felt like a potentially unstoppable force in the Eastern Conference after rolling through the regular season.
The Lightning, in about as emphatic a statement as could be made, swept Florida in the Eastern Semis. But after New York went up 2-0 in the Eastern Conference Final, it seemed that the playoff juggernaut was finally about to be felled. Then, the Lightning once again reminded that it’s easier said than done. Andrei Vasilevskiy was again the driver of Tampa Bay’s success, serving as a bear trap in the crease. After yielding an uncharacteristic six goals in Game 1 of the ECF, Vasilevskiy stepped up to completely dominate the stretch run against the Rangers, finishing out with three consecutive one-goal-allowed performances.
With Saturday’s Game 6 win to move on to the Stanley Cup Final, the Lightning will now begin prepping for the Colorado Avalanche, who swept Edmonton in the Western Conference Final. Tampa Bay and Colorado will start the NHL’s endgame with Game 1 on Wednesday. Tampa Bay might not win that series, but their ability to amp their game to a different level in the postseason is one that should be remembered for a long time.
Tampa Bay Lightning 2 New York Rangers 1 (Tampa Bay advances to Stanley Cup Final 4-2)
– Andrei Vasilevskiy was awesome on Saturday – it certainly helped that the Lightning offense dictated the pace of the game – and came oh-so-close to posting his second shutout of this postseason. Frank Vatrano spoiled those shutout dreams midway through the third period, but regardless, this was another spectacular postseason performance from one of the best the NHL has to offer. Vasilevskiy is just a different beast in the postseason and his presence makes game and series comebacks that much more possible for the Lightning. It’s a unique edge, one that Colorado just won’t have in the Stanley Cup Final..
– Igor Shesterkin did just about everything he could in Game 6, stopping 29-of-31 attempts while his offensive mates struggled on repeat against Vasilevskiy in the opposite crease. With seven minutes remaining in regulation, Shesterkin had given up just a second-period Steven Stamkos goal, but that one goal was the only one that had been scored in the game. Go figure that the teams would then to proceed to trade goals over the next 28 seconds, with Frank Vatrano and then Stamkos again providing a surprise late dose of offense. The Rangers lost that exchange, ultimately coming out of it down 2-1 on the scoreboard. While Shesterkin would not allow another goal, neither would Andrei Vasilevskiy. Shesterkin did not allow more than three goals in any of his final 16 postseason starts after giving up at least four goals in three of his first four starts against the Penguins to open the playoffs.
– As noted above, Frank Vatrano managed New York’s only goal in Game 6. It offered a sliding door’s moment in the game, tying the contest at 1-1 and scrubbing the blackboard clean for the closing minutes of the contest. Vatrano scored series goals in Game 1 and Game 6, finishing up his postseason with five goals and 13 points in 20 games.
– Recall that the metaphorical blackboard that was wiped clean when Vatrano knotted the game up at 1-1. Steven Stamkos promptly (and we mean really promptly) gave the Lightning the lead on a go-ahead goal just 21 seconds after Vatrano had scored. After reviewing the shot to ensure that there was no interference, Stamkos was awarded his second goal of the game. Vasilevskiy would take that lead and protect it like it housed the secrets to Area 51. Stamkos failed to score a goal in this series in just two contests (Game 2 and Game 5).
– Vatrano and Stamkos accounted for the whole of the goal-scoring action on Saturday, but they needed a little help from their friends, too. Andrew Copp chipped in with an assist on Vatrano’s goal, while Stamkos received helpers from Ondrej Palat (on both goals), Mikhail Sergachev (on the first goal) and Nikita Kucherov (on the second goal).
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Next up on the docket, the Stanley Cup Final between the Colorado Avalanche and Tampa Bay Lightning, starting with Game 1 in Colorado on Wednesday.
