Rangers blow out Lightning to even East finals

Henrik Lundqvist was spectacular in a much-needed Game 4 win for the Rangers. (USATSI)

New York Rangers vs. Tampa Bay Lightning, Game 4

Rangers 5, Lightning 1 | Series tied 2-2 | Game 5 Sunday

Game 4 in a nutshell: The game started out evenly enough with a pretty quiet first period, up until Rick Nash scored a rare postseason goal late in the frame. Then the Lightning turned things up offensively in the second, forcing Henrik Lundqvist to be brilliant, which he was. The Rangers closed out the game with four unanswered goals over the second and third periods to earn the 5-1 win and even the series.

Turning point: The Rangers survived a 19-shot barrage from the Lightning in the second period. Henrik Lundqvist did allow one goal in the second period on a Steven Stamkos one-timer, but the Rangers also scored twice on just six shots in the middle frame to own a 3-1 lead after 40 minutes. Lundqvist was outstanding in the period, making multiple saves to give his team a chance to take the lead. It was times like that where the value of an elite goaltender on his game is plainly evident. Getting out-shot 19-6, but winning the period two goals to one was only possible because Lundqvist was so sharp.

Three things we learned

1. Some of New York’s key players managed to get the monkey off their backs in Game 4. Rick Nash not only scored his first of the series, but also his second, doubling his postseason goal total. Martin St. Louis scored his first of the playoffs. Deadline acquisition Keith Yandle also scored. Those three players have been maligned at various points of the postseason for their inability to make a big enough impact. In a game the Rangers simply had to win, they made the best kind of impact. For each of those players, it may not necessarily be a signal of things to come, but for each it must have been nice to know they could still put one in. The Rangers are a far better team when all three of those players are making things happen.

2. Henrik Lundqvist bounced back from terrible performances in Games 2 and 3 to shine brightly in Game 4. After giving up 12 goals over the last two games, there were serious questions about benching Lundqvist. Obviously, those questions were not taken seriously by Rangers head coach Alain Vigneault, nor were they by Lundqvist. The Rangers netminder was his team’s very best player in Game 4. He made 38 saves in the contest and was the difference in a second period his team got virtually clubbed. When he’s going like this, there’s no one you would rather have between the pipes. After two games that could have put a lot of doubt in Lundqvist’s mind, but he sure seemed confident heading into this one and had another great performance.

3. We should probably be talking about Lightning forward Alex Killorn more. With six points in the series, the Harvard alum has been playing some really good hockey in the Eastern Conference Final. He set up Steven Stamkos’s goal in the second period that tied the game and generated a lot of opportunities. Killorn’s inability to finish on two breakaways earlier in the game were plays he’d probably like back, but even in a loss he was doing a lot of positive things. He should continue making an impact.

Video of the game: Martin St. Louis needed 16 games before he scored his first goal of the postseason. The relief of getting that first goal, the power-play tally that basically was the dagger in Tampa Bay’s hopes for Game 4, was written all over his face. The Rangers need a heck of a lot more than St. Louis has been giving them. The goal also seemed to give St. Louis some energy as he generated two great chances after that.

Derick Brassard’s perfect pass sets up Marty St Louis’s first goal of the playoffs. #NYRvsTBL #StanleyCup https://t.co/xL8S4jxmSh

— NHL (@NHL) May 23, 2015

This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service – if this is your content and you’re reading it on someone else’s site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php#publishers.