4. Emphasis on Defending
As this series has gone on, the Lightning have tightened things down more and more defensively. This Lightning team may not be able to score at quite as high of a level as teams of the past but there has been an unparalleled desire and commitment to defending.
The Lightning were able to limit the Rangers to just 25 shots on goal and truthfully, the number of real dangerous chances were limited. Even the lone Ranger goal was from a not so dangerous part of the ice as Ryan Lindgren threw the puck from outside of the left circle and just caught Andrei Vasilevskiy off guard.
As always, it helps when you have the best goalie on the planet back there when all else fails. Between the way this team defends as a collective unit and their goaltending, the Lightning are very difficult to score against.
Steven Stamkos: “It’s defend until the end.” Says group experience helps in these third periods
— Joe Smith (@JoeSmithNHL) June 10, 2022