Advertisement

NY Rangers fight to survive, but has Tampa learned how to close?

NY Rangers fight to survive, but has Tampa learned how to close?

TAMPA BAY -- On Tuesday night, the Tampa Bay Lightning have a chance to do what they’ve done in their two previous rounds of the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs, which is close out their opponents on their Amalie Arena ice.

Well, eventually they did: The Lightning had a chance to go up 3-2 against the Detroit Red Wings, but lost Game 5 of that series in a 4-0 shutout. They needed wins at the Joe in Game 6 and then at home in Game 7, which they obviously they received.

They sprinted out to a 3-0 lead against the Montreal Canadiens in the semifinals, with defenseman Jason Garrison talking about a “killer instinct” for Game 4 at home. They were blown out, 6-2, then lost again at Bell Centre before closing out the Canadiens at home in Game 6.

“This was our Game 7, we were talking and referring to it as our Game 7, we just kept looking back at the way we played, especially in the later half of the Game 7 against Detroit and we wanted that same mentality, and we had it,” said Steven Stamkos at the time.

Considering how the Rangers play at Madison Square Garden in an actual Game 7, the Lightning have to bring this mindset into Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Final.

One of the criticisms of the Lightning before the series was a lack of postseason experience in their lineup. Which always seemed a little hyperbolic, considering the presence of veterans like Brenden Morrow, Ryan Callahan, Brian Boyle and Valtteri Filppula in that room. But there’s still the lingering notion that the Lightning, as a whole, are learning how to win the postseason while the New York Rangers are at their best with their backs against the wall.

"We can't just sit here and say we played a pretty good game in Game 5, that'll just carry us into a win tonight. If we don't play better than we did in Game 5, we won't win tonight. That's kind of my message,” said coach Jon Cooper.

“You can't let yourself get too high and you can't let yourself get too low at this point. You have to go out and prepare your guys as much as possible, and I think our coaching staff has done a good job with that.

Despite the 3-2 series deficit, the Rangers should be anything but low heading into Game 6. They’re 13-4 in elimination games since 2012. They know if it gets back to New York for a Game 7, they’ve won six straight Game 7s and they’re 7-0 in Game 7s at MSG.

And they know that Henrik Lundqvist is nearly unbeatable when staring into the abyss.

Said Lundqvist, via Rangers Rants:

“You need to stay focused on the important things and that’s doing your job,” Lundqvist said. “You don’t think about the situation you’re in. This is a challenge for us. We’re playing a really good team. They’re playing with a lot of confidence right now. We know we can beat them. We did a great job the last time we were in this building. We just have to stay focused on the process here. The past is the past. We don’t really think about that now. It’s our job to really prove it to ourselves that we can play the best game of the series.

Lundqvist, now 33, was asked whether these types of games take on more significance to him as he does grow older.

“You just try to stay in the moment right now,” Lundqvist said. “You don’t really think about the big picture. I think it’s extremely important when you’re playing these games that you just stay within yourself and focus on what you have to do and not so much about where you are in your career or the situation we’re in. I just focus on my job right now.”

The Rangers know how to win a Game 6, having done so on the road in the previous round against the Washington Capitals.

The question that could decide the Eastern Conference champion: Have the Lightning learned this postseason how to avoid a Game 7 when the series is on the line on home ice?

“You think about one game at a time all throughout the playoffs, and it can't be any different here. But, again, if you accomplish what you set out to -- what is waiting for it on the other side of that is a pretty special thing,” said Lightning forward Brian Boyle.

MORE FROM YAHOO HOCKEY