The first chapter of the Eastern final was for the Rangers, in perfect control of the situation at Madison Square Garden. The New Yorkers crushed the Tampa Bay Lightning 6-2 on Wednesday to take control of the series.
A brace from Filip Chytil in the middle period, which widened the gap to 4-2, provided the balance in favor of the Rangers. Artemi Panarin and Mika Zibanejad scored in the third period to destroy Kidlat’s hopes.
Chris Kreider and Frank Vatrano were the first two home side scorers, while Steven Stamkos and Ondrej Palat provided the visitors.
As usual, goalkeeper Igor Shesterkin shone in front of his net. The hero of the first two series at New York camp stopped at 37 pucks and more than surpassed his vis-à-vis Andrei Vasilevskiy, author of 28 saves.
Inactive since May 23, courtesy of a wide blow to the Panthers at the Battle of Florida, the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions resumed the collar after a long break that seemed to slow them in raising the curtain of the eastern final.
The Rangers are unbeaten at Madison Square Garden in their last seven meetings. Only the Pittsburgh Penguins, in the first game of the preliminary round, beat the New Yorkers on their ice in the current playoff tournament.
The second matchup of the series will take place on Friday, again in New York. Meanwhile, the Colorado Avalanche and the Edmonton Oilers will meet in Game 2 of the Western Final, after an explosive start.
More details will follow.
Source: Radio-Canada
