Playoff primer: Rangers roll into conference finals
By THE SPORTS XCHANGE
NEW YORK -- Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Anton Stralman is not Nostradamus.
It is just that he is intimately familiar with the New York Rangers' collective makeup.
"Ever since the playoffs started, I knew it was going to happen," Stralman said in Tampa Bay Thursday of the Lightning-Rangers Eastern Conference finals, which begin Saturday afternoon at Madison Square Garden.
Stralman, center Brian Boyle and right winger Ryan Callahan were members of the 2013-14 Rangers squad which reached the Stanley Cup finals. Callahan was traded to the Lightning at the trade deadline for Martin St. Louis after not being able to come to terms on a contract with Rangers General Manager and President Glen Sather.
Callahan recorded 11 points in 24 regular season and playoff games with Tampa Bay before agreeing to a six-year, $34.8 million deal last June. The Lightning followed that deal by signing Stralman (five years, $22.5 million) and Boyle (three years, $6 million) on the first day of free agency.
The ex-Rangers fortified a young and gifted roster, as Tampa finished second in the Atlantic Division and fifth in the NHL with 108 points. The Lightning bested the Red Wings in the Atlantic Division semifinals, before topping the Canadiens in the Atlantic Division finals
"A lot of emotions," Callahan said Thursday when asked about the prospect of playing the Rangers.
It is unknown if Callahan will play in Game 1 as he underwent appendectomy surgery Monday, but did practice Thursday.
"I think the biggest (feeling) is we're in the Conference finals," Callahan said. "No matter who the opponent is, we've got a chance to move on. It's going to be a lot of emotions obviously being back there for a playoff game and I'm excited. It's an exciting time of year."
Presumably, their counterparts in New York would agree, especially after eliminating the Washington in Game 7 of the Metropolitan Division final. Derek Stepan's goal 11:24 into overtime gave the Rangers a 2-1 win to clinch a series in which they trailed three-games-to-one.
New York eliminated Pittsburgh in the Metropolitan Division semifinal prior to the seven game series against Tampa.
"We've been through so many things over the last few years," Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist said. "I think it's important that you stay focused on the positives. (Washington) won three-out-of-the-(first)-four but (they) were close games. That's important to know that you don't need to change much to win a game.
"We knew we were very close. It starts with confidence that you can do it, take one game at a time and we did a great job."
The Rangers won the Presidents' Trophy after setting single season franchise records for wins (53) and points (113). However, Tampa Bay swept New York in the three regular season meetings, the last being on Dec. 1.
MATCHUPS TO WATCH:
NEW YORK'S SECOND AND THIRD DEFENSE PAIRS AGAINST THE LIGHTNING'S FORWARDS: There are certainties in life. Federal Income taxes have to be filed by April 15. The sun rises in the East and sets in the West. Christmas Day is Dec. 25. Dan Girardi and Ryan McDonagh comprise New York's top defense pair. Expect to see them matched up against center Steven Stamkos' line. The second and third defense pairs are where things become interesting. During the series against the Capitals, Rangers coach Alain Vigneault kept his second (Marc Staal-Dan Boyle) and third pair (Kevin Klein-Keith Yandle) intact for the games in New York. In Washington, though, Vigneault was forced to create pairings of Staal-Klein and Boyle-Yandle. While the Staal-Klein pairing was relatively steady, the Boyle-Yandle duo was adventurous, especially in their own end.
BEN BISHOP VS. NEW YORK'S SKATERS: New York has a known commodity in Lundqvist. It remains to be determined what Ben Bishop is. The Lightning goaltender compiled a 40-13-5 mark with a 2.32 goals against average and a .916 save percentage in the regular season. In his first playoffs, Bishop has an 8-5 record with .931 save percentage and 1.81 GAA. Bishop started and was the winning goaltender in all three regular season games against New York, and had a 2.34 GAA. Bishop won't have to outplay Lundqvist in order for Tampa to advance to the franchise's second Stanley Cup finals, but his .900 save percentage against New York in the regular season could be cause for concern.
