Lightning at Rangers
The New York Rangers have been at their best when backed into a corner in the postseason and continued that trend by reclaiming home ice in the Eastern Conference final. With the series now down to a best-of-three, the Presidents' Trophy-winning Rangers look to make it two straight victories in Game 5 on Sunday against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Henrik Lundqvist was torched for 12 goals in back-to-back games but responded with a magnificent performance in Friday's 5-1 victory, making 38 saves to cool off the potent Lightning. "There was a lot of talk about him and about his play, but there wasn't any doubt from within our dressing room," New York coach Alain Vigneault said. Tampa Bay has scored six goals in each of its victories and tallied once in both of its defeats, but there was no loss of confidence after unleashing 79 shots in the last two contests. "People are going to wake up in the morning and look at the boxscore and say, 'Oh, wow, Tampa got waxed,' " Lighting coach Jon Cooper said after the Game 4 loss. "But if you were in the building, you probably didn't see it that way."
TV: 8 p.m. ET, NBCSN, CBC, TVA
ABOUT THE LIGHTNING: While the buzz after Game 3 centered around Lundqvist's shaky play, there suddenly are questions surrounding Tampa Bay counterpart Ben Bishop after he surrendered five goals for the second consecutive outing. While Cooper dismissed questions regarding a switch of netminders, calling it "asinine," there are legitimate concerns over the Lightning's penalty-killing unit after allowing two power-play goals for the third straight game. "The penalty kill needs to be better," said Bishop, who lost for only the second time in 12 career starts against the Rangers. "It starts with me. Six goals in three games is unacceptable."
ABOUT THE RANGERS: While Lundqvist stole the headlines, an equally important development for New York was the revival of Rick Nash, who notched a career-high 42 goals in the regular season but had tallied only twice in the playoffs before doubling the total on Friday. "It's just natural to grip your stick a little bit tighter and to not see the ice as well when you're struggling," Nash said. "The puck doesn't feel comfortable on your stick, so any time you can get a goal and get a little confidence, it helps." Former Lightning captain Martin St. Louis also broke through with his first tally of the postseason, ending an 18-game drought.
OVERTIME
1. Bishop had not allowed more than three goals in consecutive starts all season.
2. Rangers D Keith Yandle recorded a goal and two assists Friday to give him five points in his last two games.
3. Lightning captain Steven Stamkos has collected five goals and seven assists in his last six contests.