Projected Lineup (subject to change)
Forwards
Steven Stamkos - Anthony Cirelli - Nikita Kucherov
Ondrej Palat - Nick Paul - Alex Killorn
Brandon Hagel - Ross Colton - Corey Perry
Patrick Maroon - Pierre-Edouard Bellemare
Defensemen
Victor Hedman - Erik Cernak
Ryan McDonagh - Zach Bogosian
Mikhail Sergachev - Cal Foote
Jan Rutta
Goaltenders
Andrei Vasilevskiy
Brian Elliott
Wednesday's Matchup
The Lightning and the Rangers are playing Game 1 of their best-of-seven Eastern Conference Final in the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs...The two teams finished with 110 points during the regular season, but New York will have home-ice advantage for the series as it owns the first tiebreaker with 44 regulation wins compared to Tampa Bay's 39...Tampa Bay and New York have met once previously in the playoffs, the Lightning defeating the Rangers in seven games in the 2015 Eastern Conference Final, Ben Bishop stopping all 22 shots he faced and Alex Killorn netting the series clincher (3rd - 1:54) in a 2-0 shutout win in Game 7, the Rangers first-ever loss in a Game 7 at Madison Square Garden...Tampa Bay went 0-2-1 against the Rangers during the 2021-22 regular season...The Lightning were shut out 4-0 Jan. 2 in the only meeting at MSG, Mika Zibanejad recording a hat trick and Igor Shesterkin stopping all 38 shots he faced...The Bolts gained a point in a 4-3 shootout loss to New York Dec. 31 at AMALIE Arena, Mika Zibanejad (3rd Rd.) the only player from either team to convert in the shootout...The Lightning also lost 2-1 to the Rangers March 19 at AMALIE Arena, Brayden Point scoring the lone goal for the Bolts on a first period power play and Mika Zibanejad scoring on a power play with 16 seconds remaining in regulation for the game-winner.
Wednesday's Storylines
Tampa Bay has advanced to the conference final round for the third-consecutive season, the sixth time in the last eight seasons, the sixth time in Jon Cooper's nine full seasons as head coach and the eighth time total in franchise history...The Lightning are the first team to participate in the final four of the Stanley Cup Playoffs at least six times through an eight-year span since the Avalanche did so from 1996 to 2002 (6: 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001 &2002)...The Lightning have won 10-consecutive playoff series entering the 2022 ECF dating back to the 2020 First Round and are the third different franchise and fourth team overall to win 10 or more playoff series in a row, joining the NY Islanders (19 from 1980-84) and Montreal Canadiens (13 from 1976-80 and 10 from 1956-60)...The Bolts are on a six-game win streak since going down 3-2 in the First Round to Toronto, tied for the third-longest playoff win streak in franchise history (longest: 8-straight wins Game 5 of 2011 ECQF at PIT to Game 1 of ECF at BOS and 8-straight wins Game 3 of 2004 ECQF at NYI to Game 1 of ECF vs. PHI).
Injuries
2021-22 Reg. Season Man Games Lost: 185
2022 Playoff Man Games Lost: 4
Current injuries
Brayden Point (Lower-body injury May 14) 4 Games
Tampa Bay Sports Item of the Game
Lightning vs. Rangers ECF Match-up Puck
Commemorate the Lightning's Eastern Conference Final match-up against the NY Rangers with this Limited Edition Puck… in store and online at TampaBaySports.com while supplies last.
The Road Ahead
Game 2: Lightning at Rangers, Friday, June 3
Game 3: Lightning vs. Rangers, Sunday, June 5
Game 4: Lightning vs. Rangers, Tuesday, June 7
Game 5: Lightning at Rangers, Thursday, June 9 (if necessary)
Game 6: Lightning vs. Rangers, Saturday, June 11 (if necessary)
Game 7: Lightning at Rangers, Tuesday, June 14 (if necessary)
