Rangers lead 1-0. Score 6-2

Just about everything went the Rangers’ way last night, putting Tampa Bay on notice. A 6-2 win is shocking.

The question for Tampa coming into this game was what shape they would be in from having 9 days off. The clear disadvantage for the team turned out to be goaltender Vasilevskiy. He was out of his groove, missing some important shots. Igor Shesterkin, riding high from the last two games, was in the pocket. Now Vailevskiy wasn’t bad, I’d say there were 2 goals on him, the other 4 were incredibly well set up and placed shots that basically no one could have stopped.

Tampa’s best period was the first. The Rangers caught the first break by a mistake on defense and that put New York into the driver’s seat with confidence (the slap pass from Zibanejad to Kreider was ludicrous). But Tampa answered back quickly. A 1-1 game at the end of the first means nothing at this level, it’s anyone’s game. Both teams did play very well, the Rangers in particular because they came out of the gates flying, which they had to do. They frequently kept up with or out-skated Tampa, which is huge for a team that frequently and frustratingly starts games slowly.

The Rangers scored first in the second to take the lead once more and managed to hold on to that lead for longer than the first goal. This is where the game really felt like how everyone thought it would play out, extremely close with spurts of superiority from both teams. It would be a grueling 60 minutes that could go into overtime. But about halfway through the period, the narrative changed. The Rangers took control.

It was wild stuff from the Rangers. Igor legitimately kept them alive in the first period. He made some insane saves. He kept it tied when it could have been 3 or 4 to 1 in favor of Tampa. Then the whole team started firing on all cylinders. It didn’t matter what line was out there, they were giving Tampa no room to do what they wanted. The Rangers heavily outshot Tampa in the second and those shots on net turned into goals. Before long it was 4-2. That is a fantastic and needed buffer when playing Tampa. But Tampa could close that gap with the talent they have.

The start of the third period really ended the game. Panarin made a wrist shot that shocked everyone in the first 30 seconds. Three goals is a huge lead. Tampa looked deflated like they couldn’t believe what was happening. This hadn’t happened to them since the first game against Toronto 9 games ago. While they got more shots on goal than the Rangers in the final frame, the chances weren’t that great. Igor looked pretty casual through it.

There were so many impressive moments and tremendous plays that it’s hard to keep track of. The Ranger’s coaching staff did a tremendous job of coming up with a plan and relaying it to the players. The players executed for 60 minutes. Shooting, passing, checking, blocking, just about any mistake from one player was covered by a teammate. “The Kid Line” with Chytil, Lafreniere, and Kakko has come to life and added such depth to the team that whole new threats have emerged for Tampa to negotiate.

Tampa is a tremendous team who will make meaningful changes. They rarely make mistakes and when they do, they bounce back. It’s up to the Rangers to keep the same energy and determination in order to win again. Going up 2-0 would be massive.