This Eastern Conference Final is getting even more entertaining as it moves on. The New York Rangers may have taken part in another one-goal game, but the offensive firepower they displayed was amusing in a 6-5 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Can the Rangers play some tighter defense to even the series? Or will Tampa Bay soar to a commanding 3-1 series lead? Read on as we break down what should be another thrilling game. Over in the West, the Ducks and Hawks are set for Game 3 of their conference final series. Check out our complete preview for that game here.
[sc:NHLArticles ]New York Rangers vs. Tampa Bay Lightning Game 4 Preview
Series Scores and Schedule
Game 1 – Tampa Bay Lightning 1 at New York Rangers 2
Game 2 – Tampa Bay Lightning 4 at New York Rangers 2
Game 3 – New York Rangers 5 at Tampa Bay Lightning 6 (OT)
Game 4 – May 22, 8:00 PM ET – New York Rangers (+110) at Tampa Bay Lightning (-130); total: 5.0 – view all NHL lines
Game 5 – May 24, 8:00 PM ET – Tampa Bay Lightning at New York Rangers
Game 6* – May 26, 8:00 PM ET – New York Rangers at Tampa Bay Lightning
Game 7* – May 29, 8:00 PM ET – Tampa Bay Lightning at New York Rangers
*If necessary
Betting on the New York Rangers
The Rangers’ offense finally found some life in their 6-5 Game 3 loss at Tampa. While scoring a handful of goals was certainly a relief for the Rangers, they gave up too much space against the high-flying Lightning.
[sc:NHL240 ]Blue liners Ryan McDonagh and Dan Girardi had their hands full against Tampa Bay’s vaunted Triplets line, which has scored 25 of the Bolts’ 47 goals this postseason. The Triplets finished with a combined seven points to hand New York its second defeat in the Eastern Conference Final.
The Rangers can fire back if they can sustain the offense they had in Game 3. Derick Brassard opened the scoring with his sixth goal of the playoffs, a team-high. Jesper Fast had two goals in the contest, while McDonagh and fellow blue liner Dan Boyle also scored.
Expect Fast to take more crucial shots moving forward. He now has three goals in the playoffs, converting a team-high 19.4 percent of his shots. Chris Kreider, who shares Brassard’s team-high six goals, is also quite a sniper in converting 18.8 percent of his shots this postseason.
But for the Rangers to continue netting goals, they’ll need to put some traffic in front of the Tampa Bay net. Setting screens in front of Ben Bishop will be crucial to limit the talented goalie’s chances of making a save. Brassard’s first shot of Game 3 beat the Tampa Bay goalie, who was completely screened by Kreider.
Henrik Lundqvist isn’t looking like the all-world goalie he was in the first two rounds of the playoffs. He has now allowed Tampa Bay to score six goals in back-to-back games. Expect Lundqivst to struggle once again if the rest of the Rangers fail to cover Tampa Bay’s talented scorers.
The total has gone over in five of the past six meetings.
Betting on the Tampa Bay Lightning
Who can stop the Triplets? Tyler Johnson and Nikita Kucherov each had a goal and an assist. Meanwhile, Ondrej Palat had two goals and an assist in Tampa Bay’s 6-5 overtime win against the Rangers in Game 3. The Bolts have now scored 28 goals in six games against the Rangers, including the regular season.
Johnson now has a postseason-high 12 goals, four more than the next highest scorer. Johnson also leads with 18 playoff points. Expect the Bolts’ offense to run through Tampa Bay’s talented, young scorer. Johnson should get even more confident as the series grows, knowing that he can beat New York’s Lunqvist.
What makes the Bolts even more dangerous is the offensive output of Steven Stamkos, Valtteri Filpulla and Alex Killorn in the first line. They were quiet for most of the first two rounds of the playoffs but have since exploded in the Eastern Conference Final.
Following their respective tallies in Game 3, Stamkos now has four points (two goals, two assists) while Killorn has five (three goals, two assists) in the first three games of the conference final. Having contributions from different lines should ensure the Bolts remain dangerous throughout the duration of the game.
But another win may be hard to come by if goalie Ben Bishop continues to struggle between the pipes. He allowed five goals on 28 Rangers shots in Game 3. He hasn’t looked too spectacular in his two previous Game 4s either, posting a save percentage of .868 against Detroit and Montreal in the first two rounds of the playoffs.
The Bolts have won four of their last five playoff games on home ice.
Writer’s Prediction
Tampa Bay hosts another scoring party to go up 3-1 in the series. Take the total to go over for an added bonus. Create a betting account now and have some fun betting on the high-scoring Eastern Conference Final.
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