Stamkos Puts Rangers One Game Away From The Golf Course

So much for finding that “scoring knack”.
This is typical Rangers though. Just refusing to take advantage of any good fortune. After a 5-1 win, they had the opportunity to take hold of this series & they couldn’t muster a goal. After the puck was dropped, they had 4 power play opportunities in the first half of the game & they could only muster 4 non-threatening shots. Credit to Tampa Bay – they tightened up in a big way & allowed Bishop to have his easiest night yet. After the first period it felt like whoever scored first would come out with the W and that’s exactly what happened. Stamkos led the way for his squad with the primary on their first tally (Tanner Glass should get a helper too) & buried the PP dagger to give TB a 2-goal lead that might as well have been 200. Meanwhile, the Blueshirts stars could barely get pucks past Lightning defenders let alone the goal line. For the 4th time in this series, possession stats didn’t matter. NY simply couldn’t generate enough quality to put Bishop to the test.
So now it’s do-or-die heading back to Tampa Bay. A situation the Rangers have thrived in – they’ve routinely found a way to fight back from holes like this. If the team I watched at MSG (I assume they looked even worse on TV through sober eyeballs) gets on the plane though, it’s gonna be a wrap. There’s only so many times recent history is gonna bail the Blueshirts out. Still, there’s plenty of pressure on the young, inexperienced Bolts. They know how important it is to finish this series at home instead of going up against Hank under his own roof for all the marbles. Game 5 was a huge disappointment – but as the last two have proven, all it takes is one win to hijack all the momentum. On Tuesday night, the Rangers will have no choice.