The Tampa Bay Lightning have made a habit of bouncing back from a loss during the team’s back-to-back Stanley Cup victories. The Bolts had the longest playoff streak without consecutive losses at 60 games. The New York Rangers put an end to that run on Friday with a 3-2 victory over Tampa Bay in Game 2 after winning Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final with a 6-2 decision.
Andrei Vasilevskiy had a 17-0 record, a 1.47 goals-against average, a .942 save percentage and five shutouts after a loss in the postseason since 2020. It was an impressive run that had to come to an end at some point. Tampa Bay will look to rebound on home ice in Game 3 on Sunday after falling into a 2-0 hole in the best-of-seven series to the Rangers.
That won’t be easy the way Igor Shesterkin has been playing. He has permitted two goals or fewer in eight of his past nine outings. He earned his 10th career postseason win in his 17th appearance, which is the fewest in Rangers history to start their playoff career with the franchise. It took Henrik Lundqvist 18 games played to accomplish the feat. Shesterkin also stretched his home win streak to eight games on Friday. Only four different goaltenders in NHL history have had longer runs in a playoff year.
Don’t forget, for everything NHL, check out NBC Sports EDGE’s Player News, and follow @NBCSEdgeHK and @CoreAbbott on Twitter.
TAMPA BAY 2 NEW YORK RANGERS 3 (Rangers lead series 2-0)
Adam Fox and Chris Kreider registered two assists apiece to lead the Rangers.
Fox has amassed two goals and 10 assists over a seven-game point streak, while Kreider has three goals and three helpers during a four-game point streak.
The App is Back! Don’t forget to download the NBC Sports EDGE app to receive real-time player news, mobile alerts and track your favorite players. Plus, now you can check out articles and player cards. Get it here!
Nikita Kucherov was the other multi-point performer with one goal and one assist for Tampa Bay. He has five goals and 12 helpers in 13 contests this postseason.
K’Andre Miller and Kaapo Kakko scored for New York in the first period to extend their respective point streaks to three games.
Nick Paul rounded out the scoring in the third period at the 17:58 mark. He also posted four shots and six blocks.
Corey Perry, Victor Hedman, Anthony Cirelli, Filip Chytil and Frank Vatrano provided one assist each.
Artemi Panarin was credited with a game-high five shots.
Jacob Trouba co-led the match in blocks among skaters with six.
Igor Shesterkin stopped 29 shots in the victory.
Andrei Vasilevskiy made 25 saves in the loss.
