First Period:
- Pat Maroon (3) Assists: Zach Bogosian (2), Pierre-Edouard Bellemare (1)
Second Period:
- Nikita Kucherov (7) Assists: Ondrej Palat (5), Jan Rutta (2)
Third Period:
- Steven Stamkos (7) vAssists: Jan Rutta (3), Ondrej Palat (6)
- Artemi Panarin (6) (Power Play) Assists: Adam Fox (19), Andrew Copp (8)
- Ondrej Palat (7) Unassisted
Stats:
Adam Rotter:
- 2-2 after 4 games always seemed likely, but all the good feeling that the Rangers had after the first two games is gone as Tampa ties it up and does so in pretty decisive fashion.
- This game just felt like a slog. The score was close for a while, the Rangers had the edge in shots, but it never really felt like they had a chance. Tampa got the lead and then gave the Rangers nothing.
- Tampa really locked things down defensively, kept the Rangers to the outside most of the night and, most importantly, didn’t put the Rangers on the PP until the game was basically out of hand. All of that allowed for Andrei Vasilevskiy to have a pretty easy night.
- When the Rangers get PPs and score on those PPs the lack of 5-on-5 scoring can be overlooked, but when they don’t get PPs or don’t get them until late or the game is decided, the lack of 5-on-5 scoring is front and center.
- So much was made of Tampa’s long layoff and the rust they had in the first two games, but I’m beginning to wonder if playing every other day is starting to catch up to the Rangers. I think that they carried over the momentum from winning Game 7 against Carolina and then playing at home for the first two games, but now I’m wondering if all these games, these high pressure moments, needing to chase so much in the first two series and all the minutes for the top guys is starting to catch up. They weren’t nearly as sharp as they have been and I just wonder if fatigue is finally catching up.
- The other thing potentially catching up to the Rangers is injuries. Barclay Goodrow is far from 100%, Ryan Strome skated this morning and came out for warmups and then didn’t play and now Filip Chytil missed time tonight. The Rangers struggle to create at 5-on-5 at times and that becomes an even tougher task when two of your top three centers are out. Outside of Goodrow’s earlier injury and the beating Ryan Lindgren has taken, the Rangers have been pretty fortunate with injuries so far, but now their depth and the players that they deemed needed upgrades could be playing important minutes.
- This game leaves you feeling a lot like after Game 5 against Carolina, but that put the Rangers on the verge of elimination and this only ties up the series. The big difference is that now the Rangers are up against the two-time defending champs and their best players are leading the way. In some ways Game 5 on Thursday seems like an elimination game because if the Rangers lose and go down 3-2, can they beat this Tampa team back-to-back with with them on the verge of going to their third straight Stanley Cup Final?
- All the Rangers ever did this year is respond and show resilience. Do they have another pushback in them? Can they use a return to MSG as an energy boost and then head back to Tampa for Game 6 with a chance to clinch? They have been at their best with their back up against the wall and while it technically isn’t there yet, they need to approach Game 5 like it is, draw some penalties, score and get the momentum and good feeling back on their side.