Tampa Bay Lightning Stun New York Rangers In 2-0 Shutout

The Tampa Bay Lightning shutout the New York Rangers in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals, sending the series back to Amalie Arena on Tuesday night.

The Tampa Bay Lightning were able to put the crushing 5-1 loss to the New York Rangers in the rearview mirror when they took the ice at Madison Square Garden tonight and completely blank the Blue Shirts 2-0 and sending the series back to Amalie Arena on Tuesday night.

The Tampa Bay Lightning knew going into tonight’s encounter at Madison Square Garden deep in the heart of Rangers Country that they were going to have to play a much more defensive-minded game if they wanted the opportunity to get back on top in this series. Anyone who watched tonight’s encounter knows that this is exactly what the Lightning has done.

Surprisingly enough, the first period was fairly quiet. Other than three penalties between these two teams, two to the Lightning and one to the Rangers, the first twenty minutes of play was sincerely a back and forth battle. Out of the two penalties against the Lightning, one of them was nothing more than a bench minor for Too Many Men on the Ice, so as we said, the Bolts and the Rangers were on a pretty even keel.

When the buzzer would sound and everyone headed to their respective locker rooms, the two teams would find themselves scoreless. Much like quite a few of the periods in this series, the Tampa Bay Lightning was outshot by the Rangers, but only by 6-4.

As many times as we have said this, tonight seems to be one of those nights that have proven us right. If the Tampa Bay Lightning wanted to take charge of this game and strike first blood they are going to have to go on the offensive. Thankfully for Lightning fans, that is exactly what they did.

The second period was all about the Tampa Bay Lightning. It would take just slightly longer than the halfway point before someone would strike blood, but when it was all said and done, it would be Valtteri Filppula who would find the back of the net and give the Lightning what they desired; first blood.

Lightning defenseman Anton Stralman would play the puck into the zone, passing the puck off to Lightning captain Steven Stamkos. Stamkos would pass the puck up to Filppula, who was waiting anxiously in front of the net. The rest, as they say, was history.

It was just about five minutes later when the Lightning would strike once again. This time, they would find their success on the Power Play. At just after the 17 minute mark, Rangers defenseman Marc Staal would find himself on a one-way trip to the sin bin for Tripping Lightning right wing Nikita Kucherov.

This time, it would be Stamkos who would strike. Well…almost. Ondrej Palat played the puck in front of the net and took a shot at Rangers netminder Henrik Lundqvist. As the shot seemed to be going wide, the captain put his stick on the puck and tipped it right into the net.

When the buzzer would sound, it would be the Tampa Bay Lightning who would hold a two-goal lead over the New York Rangers. In addition to raising their shot count from the previous period, the Lightning actually managed to outshoot the Rangers 11-10 raising their two-period totals to 16-15 Rangers.

After the intermission came to an end, both teams took the ice with the hopes of walking out of Madison Square Garden with a win. For one team, their goal would be achieved. For the other, they would be headed to the Amalie Arena on Tuesday night with their backs against the wall.

Much like the first period of play, there would be a lot of back and forth between the Lightning and the Rangers, but neither one of them would be able to find the back of the net. The Rangers almost ended up with a three-goal deficit when the Bolts shot the puck at the net left empty by the recently-pulled Henrik Lundqvist, but it simply wasn’t meant to be.

When the final buzzer sounded, it would be the Tampa Bay Lightning who would be headed home to Hockey Paradise with the 3-2 series lead and an opportunity to close the books on the series and advance to the Stanley Cup Finals.

While this seems exciting, let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves. Before we can start planning a trip to the Honda Center to play the Anaheim Ducks or the United Center to face off with the Chicago Blackhawks, there is still a crucial task in front of them; defeating the New York Rangers.

If the Tampa Bay Lightning can continue the style of play that they implemented in tonight’s encounter, they should have no issues getting the job done, but you can bet your bottom dollar that a team with their backs against the wall are going to come out with a fire in their souls; one that will have to be quickly quelled by the Bolts.

What did you think of tonight’s 2-0 shutout win over the New York Rangers? What adjustments, if any, do you think the Lightning need to make in order to close out this series at home on Tuesday night? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

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