Before the start of the series, “Tampa” was clearly considered a favorite in the confrontation with the “Rangers”. While the “cops” passed with great difficulty and, largely thanks to Igor Shesterkin, the barrier of “Pittsburgh” and “Carolina”, “Tampa” first staged a shootout with “Toronto”, then without any problems removed the champion of the regular season from the path – “Florida.” In addition, the leaders of the “Rangers” are clearly experiencing problems in the playoffs. The team, in addition to Shesterkin, was coached by Mika Zibanejad and defender Adam Fox.
“Tampa” in the first two matches showed a strange inertia and was not like him. Stamkos disappeared, Kucherov did not shine, and the rest of the leaders died out after them. Even Vasilevsky, who is generally in excellent shape, had a lot of questions. Against the background of the sagging “Lightning”, the “Rangers” looked quite solid, and it cannot be said that he got his earnings from business. In the first game, in the second, Rangers performed well and deserved to win. As a result, the situation worsened. It’s no problem to leave the score 0-2, the Rangers themselves have done it in the series with Pittsburgh, but the cops’ third straight victory could put the current Stanley Cup holders on the brink. relegation.
As a result, the third game, “Tampa” began extremely unsatisfactory. After throwing double-edged injections, “Tampa” shut down the game again and for some reason started collecting deletions. And often for the attack on Igor Shesterkin. It is not known, maybe the Tampa players just decided to disable the strongest opposing player in this way, but the fact is that Igor received various pushes and pushes throughout the game. Including his compatriot Nikita Kucherov. However, Shesterkin used it willingly and gladly added quaintness to the episodes. For this, after the match, the Russian was ruthlessly criticized on social networks.
As a result, such an aggressive and irresponsible game “Tampa” led to the fact that Zibanejad sold a majority. “Lightning” immediately received another deletion, and then Vasilevsky missed the second puck. 0-2 in the middle of the second period, with a really weak game, we saw almost a sentence. However, Pipe’s removal from Rangers helped. Kucherov immediately took advantage of the power play.
The team’s third period exit was marked by another withdrawal from the Pipe. And again, Tampa punished the Rangers. This time Stamkos scored and Kucherov acted as an assist. Well, in the final minute of the final period, Tampa scored their third goal and earned a voluntary win just as everyone started tuning in to overtime. Not to say it was undeserved. If the first part of the match “Tampa” failed, then starting with Kucherov’s goal, the hosts took control of the game and the puck, forcing the defense of “Rangers” to work to the maximum. Shesterkin made 48 saves, but even that didn’t save his team from defeat.
“Tampa” showed character at the right time, reminding us that it was no accident that they won the Stanley Cup two years in a row. Victory should be the turning point of confrontation. For all its cuteness, “Rangers” is still inferior to “Tampa” in terms of variability and potency. True, Lightning only started using it in Game 3.
Yahya Hasanov, Athletistic
Source: Sport
I am Sandra Jackson, a journalist and content creator with extensive experience in the news industry. I have been working in the news media for over five years. During this time, I have worked as an author and editor at various outlets producing high-quality content that attracts readers from different demographics.
