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Seven keys to the Lightning vs. Rangers in Game 7

Seven keys to the Lightning vs. Rangers in Game 7

The Eastern Conference Final will be decided in Game 7 on Friday night at Madison Square Garden between the New York Rangers and the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Here are seven keys to Game 7:

1. First Goal Wins

“Is it only one game that the team that's scored first didn't win?” asked Lightning coach Jon Cooper. “That's going to help you in your mindset and how you're going to play.  I think you look at the teams in the series when they haven't had the lead, they've tried to chase it a little bit.  Maybe it pulls you out of your comfort zone.  When you do have the lead, you're in your comfort zone.”

The Rangers are 8-3 when they score first, and with the way Lundqvist plays in a Game 7, that might be enough.

The Lightning are 8-0 when they score first. So if you wanna win, score first, m’kay?

2. Embracing History vs. Ignoring It

Hey, did you guys hear that the Rangers are pretty good in Game 7s? Like the fact that they’ve won six straight of them? That players like Chris Kreider, Derick Brassard and Rick Nash have never lost one? That Henrik Lundqvist has only allowed five goals in six straight Game 7 wins?

The Lightning have heard it. They know it. They’re trying their best to ignore it with statements like the one Steven Stamkos made about this being the first time the Rangers have faced the Lightning in a Game 7, so forget the trends. But can they?

3. The Nash Line

It’s pretty clear the Rangers have found something with Nash, Brassard and J.T. Miller, who combine for 13 points in Game 6 and had four points in Game 4. That said, they went scoreless in the Game 5 loss at MSG. Nash at home? One goal in 10 games. Nash on the road? Four goals in eight games.

4. The Triplets

Conversely, Tyler Johnson has eight goals in nine road games this postseason. The Triplets weren’t at their best in Game 6, only hitting the board on two late Nikita Kucherov goals. They need to be the best line on the ice in Game 7, full stop.

5. Don’t Forget the Net

Ben Bishop has given up five goals or more three times in this series; the last time, he said his teammates “forgot their net” in the disastrous third period, overcompensating for a deficit by neglecting their own zone. Otherwise known as “panic.”

6. Control the Neutral Zone

Whoever turns the puck over the most in the middle of the ice shall likely lose this game. These are two fast teams that thrive off the counterattack. Something else to watch: The Lightning’s breakouts. When their defensemen can start the rush with a long outlet pass, their offense really gets rolling.

7. The Rangers Power Play

The Rangers have converted at a 31.8 percent clip in this series, including those three straight games in which they scored two power-play goals. Question 1: In a game that figures to be another one-goal affair, can the power play be the difference? Question 2: Will anyone even get a power play, as we’ve seen some Games 7 with nary a call this postseason?

Prediction: I picked the Lightning in seven before the series. It got me this far. Bolts in seven.