The goalie duel between Andrey Vasilevsky and Igor Shesterkin, which was called the central confrontation of the Tampa Bay-Rangers Eastern Conference Finals before the start of the series and during it, took on even more importance during the sixth game.
On one side was the goaltender who had canceled six of the Lightning’s last seven playoff games of the season. Both goalkeepers had an excellent sixth game, deservedly being among the three stars (Vasilevsky – the second, Shesterkin – the third).
The Tampa goalkeeper again showed phenomenal calm: he did not receive a big charge from the Rangers offense (21 shots), but throughout the game he maintained his concentration and activated the impenetrable mode at the right time.
Shesterkin, once again, had to lug the New York defense alone, facing a large number of Lightning shots (31). If Vasilevsky stood out for his calmness, his compatriot stood out for the brightness of his own actions, the main one of which was a save trap after a shot from Nikita Kucherov at the start of the second period.
That night, only one person was destined to face Shesterkin – Tampa captain Stephen Stamkos, who became the main character of the team. The first time the Canadian did was in the 31st minute, moving from the edge of the area to the starboard side and cleverly concealing a wrist shot behind Rangers defender Ryan Lindgren.
In the second case, Shesterkin himself helped the Tampa captain. In the 54th minute, 21 seconds after Frank Vatrano took advantage of the same dismissal from Stamkos to equalize, the goalkeeper pulled the puck out of the trap after the Canadian shot, sending it straight into the opposing leg, from where it went flown into the net.
In this episode, Kucherov had an excellent goal pass, receiving the puck in the middle zone and then driving it past the defenseman towards Stamkos. Nikita extended his hitting streak to five games (3+5) and became the third Russian in history to score 150 career points in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
For the rest, there are and can be no questions to Shesterkin both in this match and in the entire series. As phenomenal as the Russian goalie’s play is, it’s unrealistic to win a playoff series when the team has scored just one puck in the last four evenly matched games.
The Rangers’ final assault was overwhelmed by the skillful work of Tampa defensemen, thanks to which the Lightning won by a narrow margin and sealed their third consecutive Stanley Cup final. The last time Edmonton managed to do that was (1983-85).
In the deciding series of the season, Vasilevsky, Kucherov and others will face Colorado, who beat Edmonton in the Western final.
The first match will take place on the night of Wednesday to Thursday at 03:00 (Moscow time).
Source : MatchTV
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.
