The final of the NHL Eastern Conference crossed the halfway point today and so far it has lived up to all expectations: the Rangers and Florida play a very tense series, after four games in which the score is tied: 2-2 . Moreover, in three cases the winner was revealed only in overtime: the teams that became the best in the East are very equal. We have at least two more games left to see in this matchup and it is not at all certain that they will be enough to determine the Stanley Cup finalist. The good news is that so far this series is one of the main decorations of the current draw.
What helps teams play that type of hockey?
“Rangers”: Shesterkin’s magic and unexpected heroes
We often talk about the highest level of Igor Shesterkin and we will not miss the opportunity to do so again: the Russian did a lot to help the Blueshirts to their first victory in the series, conceding two goals minus xGA in the second game, and kept his team in the game until the last match, where without Shesterkin’s titanic efforts the guests would hardly have survived the overtime. However, the same can be said about the third game, which also ended with the Rangers.
Not everything went well for Igor during the regular season, but at the end of the season and in the playoffs, the Russian goalkeeper receives above all praise: among the goalkeepers who played more than three games in these playoffs, only Jeremy Swayman from Boston has a higher percentage reflected gunshots (93.3%) than Shesterkin (92.5%). Without Igor, the Rangers’ chances of winning would be much lower, and that’s a fact.
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In addition to the fact that during the semi-final series (and, in fact, during the entire Stanley Cup), unexpected heroes appeared among the “cops” much more often. Remember who got the result in the same third game. No, it was not Panarin, nor Zibanejad, nor Kreider, nor even Fox: Alexi Lafreniere and Barkley Goodrow each scored a double, and the winning goal was scored by Alexander Wennberg, for whom this goal was the first in the current playoffs.
As for Goodrow, he brought victory to the Rangers in the second game of the series, and in just three rounds he scored more goals than in the entire regular season: 6 in 14 games against 4 in 80. Lafreniere was already having the best year . of his career, but in the playoffs he came to the fore: the same magnificent goal in the third game shows how much Alexi has grown lately.
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Lafreniere beat Kulikov and scored an impressive solo goal in the third game
Of course, Vincent Trocheck is worth highlighting: it is difficult to call the Rangers’ top scorer and the forward with the most playing time on the team in these playoffs an unexpected hero, but even abroad he is not talked about like Panarin, Zibanejad. , Crider and Fox. But he is the one who has been most consistent lately in bringing results to the Rangers.
“Florida”: leader game and leader game
“Panarin, Zibanejad and Kreider should push themselves harder in this series. Zibanejad has gone 10 straight games without scoring, Panarin has seven. “Florida stars are outperforming Rangers stars,” Bally Sports reporter Andy Strickland wrote on social media.
If we can only partially agree with the words about Artemy: Florida hockey players play very closely against the Russian, but even in such conditions he manages to score points and frees the hands of his teammates, then in relation to Mika and Chris this The sentence fits 100%: the Rangers’ first line duo has 0 points in the last four games.
A lot of credit for this belongs to the Panthers’ first line: the Rangers’ leaders spend a significant portion of their playing time against Florida’s leaders, among whom is Alexander Barkov, recently recognized as the best defensive forward.
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Together with Sam Rinehart and Carter Verage (sometimes with Vladimir Tarasenko/Matthew Tkachuk), he allows his opponent to do practically nothing: the Panthers’ leading trio chains the opponent’s main stars very well, but other combinations periodically allow him to already mentioned. The unexpected heroes of the Blue Shirts breathe, which leads to defeats.
Florida’s leaders still drag their team in attack: all the goals of the southerners in the Eastern final were scored by the players of the first lines: Rinehart, Tkachuk, Verage, Barkov, Bennett and the defender of the first pair Forsling. But Paul Maurice’s men have not yet shown their usual depth: the situation here is the opposite of that of Rangers.
Both teams will still have the opportunity to correct their own shortcomings: the series returns to New York and, one might say, starts from scratch. And we will follow its evolution with interest: the most interesting is yet to come.
