Krenn: Three Things we learned from a lopsided Game 1 loss

It wasn't an ideal start for the Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday night, falling to the New York Rangers 6-2 in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final.
Not only was it a tough start to the series, but it was a tough start to the game.

Chris Kreider opened the scoring for the Rangers just 1:11 into the opening period to give New York an early 1-0 lead. The crowd at Madison Square Garden was rocking and things could have got away from Tampa Bay early.
But the leaders responded for the Bolts.
With 14:15 remaining in the first, Artemi Panarin crossed over the Lightning blue line with his head down before Ryan McDonagh ran him over with a huge open-ice hit. There was a brief hush that came over the crowd at that moment and the Bolts were able to generate some positive momentum.
Just 1:33 after McDonagh's big hit, it was another leader for Tampa Bay in captain Steven Stamkos, who got the game tied at one.
Taking a pass from Jan Rutta, Stamkos teed up a one-timer in between the top of the right circle and the New York blue line. The Lightning captain placed the puck perfectly into the top left corner with a ton of velocity to even up the score at one apiece.
It was a solid opening frame for the Bolts, especially after the long layoff.
But in the second period, things began to unravel.
The Rangers regained the lead at the 7:50 mark of the second when Frank Vatrano beat Andrei Vasilevskiy over the blocker.
Again, Tampa Bay answered.
It was just 42 seconds after Vatrano's goal that Stamkos spun a backhand shot on net before Ondrej Palat jumped on the rebound and fired a backhand shot past Igor Shesterkin to tie the game again for the Lightning.
From that point on, it was all Rangers.
Filip Chytil scored two straight goals for New York in the span of 5:34 to put the Rangers up 4-2.
It felt like the Bolts may have been able to claw their way back into the game when they entered the third period trailing by two, but that hope was crushed pretty quickly. Artemi Panarin made it a 5-2 game just 30 seconds into the third period, which felt like the back breaker for the Lightning.
Mika Zibanejad wrapped up the game with a power-play goal for New York to finish off the 6-2 win for the Rangers.
It wasn't an ideal start to the series for Tampa Bay, who will look to rebound in Game 2 on Friday night at MSG.
Before that, here's three things we learned from the series-opening loss.

1. Puck Play
The Lightning struggled with some poor puck play on Wednesday night, primarily in the second period. There were failed opportunities to clear the puck out of their zone. There were some turnovers that weren't ideal and that will have to improve in Game 2.
"We'll watch the tape like we always do after a loss," Stamkos said. "I think we know what we've got to be better at.
"Too many turnovers and execution wasn't there tonight. We have to respond.
"We've been in this position before and I'm confident our group is going to have a much better effort next game."
You have to give New York their credit. They played a strong game and capitalized on their chances when they had them. With that being said, the Bolts have better in their game and they know it.
"They finished," said Tampa Bay head coach Jon Cooper. "Every time they had a chance, they finished.
"Good on them. When you get chances, you're supposed to do that."
The Lightning were successful in the final two games of the Toronto series and throughout the Florida series because they defended so well.
The defensive zone was the primary concern for Tampa Bay over the past six games. They may have gotten away from that a little bit, but this group knows the recipe to win. It starts with taking care of their own zone.
"Yeah, I mean obviously they had a good push and give credit to them," said McDonagh. "They made some plays out there and capitalized.
"We always talk about defending, taking care of our own end. We don't ever like to give up six any night, so we've got to obviously take pride in being strong in our own end and let our offense come from there."
As previously mentioned, the Lightning know what it takes to have success. They know the recipe that is so often talked about. It's up to them to follow that recipe in Game 2 on Friday night.

2. Stuck in the Middle
The second period was the worst of the evening for Tampa Bay, who were outscored 3-1 and outshot 17-10 in the middle frame.
"They had 17 shots and we've got to help Vasy a little bit better than we did in that period," said Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman. "Like I said, we'll bounce back.
"We haven't seen them in a while and they played a good game and really executed there in the second period. If you score three goals in a period, you're doing something right and so for us, we'll be better next game."
Following Vatrano's goal that put the Rangers up 2-1 with 12:10 remaining in the period, the Bolts were able to answer right away with Palat quick response to tie the game.
After that, the Rangers got the back-to-back goals from Chytil. On the fourth goal, New York took advantage of the long change in the second period with a few tired Lightning skaters getting stuck on the ice for a long period of time.
From there,Tampa Bay went into the second intermission trailing 4-2.
Overall, there were a couple turnovers and failed clears that allowed the Rangers to capitalize on their chances in the middle frame.
"I think a little puck management got the best of us in the second," said Cooper. "A little bit of having to defend too much.
"I think there are things we did tonight that we hadn't done a ton of in the previous two rounds. The Rangers have some dynamic players and you give them an inch and they'll take a mile. They did that tonight.
"Give credit to them. They're a good team."
It was a tough period for the Bolts. It happens. What's most important is how the Lightning will address those mistakes and adjust for Game 2.

3. Take a Breath
It's one game in a long series.
"We have to be better," Stamkos said. "There's areas that we're going to improve on.
"It's Game 1 of a long series and, like I said, you've got to give them credit. I think there's areas that we can improve and we will improve."
The sky isn't falling for Tampa Bay. The Bolts were in this exact situation after a 5-0 road loss to the Maple Leafs in Game 1 of the First Round.
"We've done a great job in previous playoff runs and this playoff as well," Hedman said. "You never want to lose two in a row in a playoff series. For us to bounce back is going to be huge.
"On the road again, but at the same time, it's going to be big for us. We're a strong group mentally and we'll bounce back."
Since the start of the 2020 playoffs, the Lightning are 17-0 following a postseason loss. They've been in this situation before and have no reason to panic after one loss in a seven-game series.
"In the end, it's Game 1," said Cooper. "We've been through this before. We've won series when we've lost the first game and we've won series [when] we won the first game.
"Now we've got a look at them. They've had a look at us.
"I know that we've got better in us, but take nothing away from the Rangers effort tonight."
No matter how hard you work in practice, you can't replicate game intensity and stay in game shape without playing a game. It's no excuse for the Bolts, but they should be back in more of a groove for Game 2.
Either way, the Lightning aren't using the extended break as the reason for the loss.
"I mean, it is what it is," said Stamkos. "We're definitely not a group that is going to use that as an excuse."
We'll see if Tampa Bay can rebound in Game 2 when they battle the Rangers again on Friday night. Puck drop is set for 8 p.m. ET at Madison Square Garden.