Kucherov and Stamkos have played like top-10 players in the world since, while Kreider and Zibanejad have gone cold.Ĭhytil may be playing hurt, Strome is out of the lineup and New York may be out of immediate adjustments. New York’s Kid Line of Alexis Lafreniere, Kaapo Kakko and Filip Chytil, who flustered Tampa Bay completely in a 6-2 Game 1 rout, did next to nothing offensively and were rendered impotent.Ĭhris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad were on fire throughout the playoffs and outplayed Tampa Bay’s superstars - namely Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos - through the first two games. Shesterkin earned his flowers from the Madison Square Garden faithful, who serenaded him once again with “IGOR” chants throughout the contest, but it’s on the rest of New York’s skaters to step up, too. New York fans are giving Igor Shesterkin his flowers □ /vkfnFnvmdo It’s an unreasonable ask, but he has the impossible task of outplaying the world’s best goaltender every night, and Vasilevskiy was certainly better in Game 5, with 25 stops and a goal saved above expected. Although Shesterkin is likely fuming internally about allowing two goals from non-prime scoring locations, he’s the primary reason why the Rangers are still in this series, and he certainly didn’t play poorly Thursday night. If New York were to win the series, Igor Shesterkin would have to outduel Andrei Vasilevskiy, and for large stretches of the series he's done exactly that. The Rangers may simply be out of cards to play. The Lightning always had the larger margin of error because of their talent and continuity, and the series is clearly theirs for the taking now. The road team finally emerged with a key victory, and the Rangers could be facing impending doom. Do the Rangers have anything left in the tank? Remember Thursday evening as the Mikhail Sergachev Game. As historians and hockey fans alike look back on the Lightning’s reign, there will be certain games that stand out. He has rarely, if ever, complained about his minutes or his role, even as one of the league’s ascendent talents on the blue line. It’s hard to believe at times, but Sergachev is just 23 years old, and would profile as a sure-fire top-pair defenseman on a lesser team. Sergachev has been far more than a bit player in the consecutive Cup runs, and in some ways he’s the bridge between the team’s dynastic present and uncertain future. If the Lightning advance to the Final, it’s because their unique combination of superstars and proven depth have an innate sense of when to rise to the occasion. There may be a tendency to attribute Sergachev’s brace as a byproduct of shooting luck, but he was the best skater on the ice for the Lightning with four shots, while the Lightning controlled over 68 percent of the expected goals at 5-on-5 with him on the ice, per Natural Stat Trick. Although he hadn’t scored since an April 16 regular season contest against the Winnipeg Jets, Sergachev’s confidence evidently skyrocketed, and he got another shot through traffic to stun Shesterkin that hit Palat en route to the net. The game-winning marker was eventually credited to Palat, but Sergachev was initially listed with the goal. This Sergachev shot had eyes for the back of the net #Stanle圜up /Bcr1Pg8Qb3
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