The New York Rangers came roaring back last round, erasing a 3-1 deficit to beat the Capitals on Derek Stepan’s overtime winner. Now they have the Tampa Bay Lightning, a matchup not many New Yorkers wanted to see. Tampa is quick, talented, and deep. They have great goaltending, and their overall team defense is solid (but not deep). They have the speed to match the Rangers, something few teams in the league can boast.

But the Rangers have Henrik Lundqvist. They have been battle tested. They have been there before. The Bolts have not, and that may be the Blueshirts’ biggest advantage in this series.

Justin wrote a very detailed analysis on how to beat Ben Bishop, and I wrote a detailed systems/numbers preview of the series. Both are great reads if you haven’t already perused.

Bolts Systems

Jon Cooper has the Lightning playing a pretty similar system as the Rangers. They run an overload 1-2-2 forecheck, but will mix in a 2-1-2 as well. In the defensive zone, they mix zone and overload coverage depending on puck location. On special teams, they run a 1-3-1 power play and rotate between a diamond and box penalty kill depending on opposition setup.

Bolts Lines

Alex Killorn-Steven Stamkos-Ryan Callahan
Ondrej Palat-Tyler Johnson-Nikita Kucherov
Cedric Paquette-Valterri Filppula-J.T. Brown
Jonathan Drouin-Brian Boyle-Vladimir Namestnikov

Victor Hedman-Anton Stralman
Jason Garrison-Brayden Coburn
Matt Carle-Andrej Sustr

PP1: Stamkos-Boyle-Palat-Filppula-Stralman
PP2: Johnson-Kucherov-Callahan-Killorn-Carle

PK: Boyle, Paquette, Brown, Johnson, Filppula, Palat, Stamkos, Stralman, Hedman, Carle

Ben Bishop gets the start.

Rangers Lines

Rick NashDerick BrassardMartin St. Louis
Chris KreiderDerek StepanJesper Fast
Carl HagelinDominic MooreKevin Hayes
Tanner GlassJ.T. MillerJames Sheppard

Ryan McDonaghDan Girardi
Marc StaalDan Boyle
Keith YandleKevin Klein

PP1: Kreider-Stepan-St. Louis-Brassard-Boyle
PP2: Nash-Hayes-Miller-McDonagh-Yandle

PK: Stepan, Nash, Girardi, Staal, Moore, Fast, Hunwick, Boyle, Hagelin, Yandle, McDonagh

Henrik Lundqvist is in net.

Scratches/Injuries: Mats Zuccarello (concussion), Matt Hunwick (healthy)

Crazy Prediction: The game doesn’t end 2-1.

Be sure to check out our ticket link if you’re looking for tickets to the game. Game time is 1pm on NBC.

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