stamkos.jpg
The Lightning's Steven Stamkos scores a power-play goal in the second period against Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist.
(AP)
I had a feeling this would happen.
I wish I could say I'm surprised at the outcome of Sunday's Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals, a 2-0 Tampa Bay win to take a 3-2 series lead and push the Rangers to the brink.
Having been a Rangers fan since the 1970s -- but, in particular, an observer of the Blueshirts' recent playoff teams -- I've seen this script before.
The Rangers don't know what to do with any kind of prosperity, even if you call being tied 2-2 with two of three games at home as "prosperity."
The Henrik Lundqvist-era Rangers always seem to play better with their backs to the wall. That had better be the case again, as New York will need to win the next two games in order to return to the Stanley Cup Finals.
But just as I had a feeling that the Blueshirts would lose Game 5, I'm just that confident that the Rangers will get it done and take the series.
For now, let's examine what happened on Sunday.
MIXED: HENRIK LUNDQVIST
Could he have stopped Valtteri Filppula's rocket shot from between the circles? Maybe. But you can't blame him for the Lightning's second goal, which was a thing of beauty that left Hank helpless. And he made his share of nice saves, including the amazing glove stop on a point-blank chance by Steven Stamkos. Since the Rangers didn't score even one goal, Lundqvist was in a no-win situation.
BAD: MARC STAAL
His horrible play in this series reached its peak (we hope) on Sunday, when he was on the ice for the first goal and was in the penalty box for the second.
BAD: RICK NASH AND MARTIN ST. LOUIS
After both got off the schneid in Game 4, they returned to their quiet selves on Sunday. Nash led the team with five shots, but none of those were memorable. St. Louis produced pressure early but became less of a factor as the game went on. It was no coincidence that the Blueshirts won when both of these guys scored on Friday; it also wasn't a coincidence that they were shut out Sunday after another silent effort.
MIXED: KEITH YANDLE
He was tied for second on the team in both shots and blocked shots, but Yandle had a whale of a giveaway that The King bailed him out on with the aforementioned glove save on Stamkos.
BAD: POWER PLAY
After having success for much of this series, the Rangers' man advantage reverted to its miserable self, going 0 for 4 on Sunday. Tampa Bay clearly capitalized on the momentum gained from its penalty kill. Instead of playing with the puck near the blue line -- and having long shots blocked by Lightning players sacrificing their bodies -- the Blueshirts need to move the puck down low and cause traffic in front of Tampa netminder Ben Bishop.
BAD: LACK OF ADJUSTMENTS
You would figure the Rangers would've tried something different in the third period after Tampa's successful second stanza -- which featured two goals and a ton of blocked shots. Alain Vigneault should also be giving more ice time to Jesper Fast (11:18), Carl Hagelin (13:04) and Kevin Hayes (14:34). Compare that to Nash's minutes (21:56).
NOTE: Sorry, no poll with this story due to computer glitch.