The final numbers back up Killorn's statement. The Lightning held the Rangers to just 21 shots on goal and 45 total attempts. Through the first two periods, New York only managed 23 total shot attempts. The Rangers produced very few scoring chances during Game Six. Much of that had to do with how decisively the Lightning won the possession battle. For most of the night, the Lightning had the puck. And, unlike the Rangers, they were able to accumulate a high volume of scoring chances. Igor Shesterkin delivered a magnificent performance, erasing nearly all of Tampa Bay's looks. All but two.
Steven Stamkos recorded both of those. His first goal came off the rush at 10:43 of the second period. He finished a wrist shot from the right circle, wiring the puck inside the far post. His second tally occurred just 21 seconds after the Rangers had tied the game on Frank Vatrano's power play goal. Andrew Copp won an offensive zone face-off win directly to Vatrano, who one-timed the puck from the slot into the net at 13:07 of the third. But the Lightning responded immediately. Ondrej Palat fed Nikita Kucherov in the neutral zone as Stamkos sped past Jacob Trouba down the left wing. That created a two-on-one for the Lightning. Kucherov delivered the puck to Stamkos, who cut to the middle and fired a shot into Shesterkin's glove. Shesterkin bobbled the puck - the rebound deflected off Stamkos and bounced into the net.
Back up by a goal, the Lightning locked things down over the final 6:32 of regulation. They repeatedly intercepted pucks in the neutral zone and worked them deep into the Rangers end. After the second Stamkos goal, New York managed just two more SOG down the stretch, both after Shesterkin was pulled for the extra attacker. The Lightning blocked three other New York attempts during the six-on-five. Vasilevskiy finished with 20 saves. He did face a couple of scoring chances, including Copp's third period rebound opportunity when the score was still 1-0. But Vasilevskiy was not asked to do nearly as much heavy lifting as Shesterkin in this game. That's a testament to how well his teammates played in front of him.
Before the Stanley Cup Final begins on Wednesday, I'll have a full series recap of this Eastern Conference Final, the Lightning's 11th consecutive series triumph.
Lightning Radio Three Stars of the Game (as selected by Phil Esposito):
1. Steven Stamkos - Lightning. Two goals.
2. Brandon Hagel - Lightning.
3. Igor Shesterkin - Rangers. 29 saves.
