Mikhail Sergachev was silent throughout the playoffs and fired at the right moment.
«Tampa Bay” won the third consecutive victory in the semi-final series of the Stanley Cup with “Rangers“. The main star of the meeting was the Russian defender from Florida Mikhail Sergachev – before that, he had only four assists in the playoffs, and in New York he scored a double and put the Rangers on the brink of relegation. He was later deprived of the second puck due to a partner’s touch, but without the Russian’s throw, there would have been no goal. Better time to prove yourself and not invent!
By the fifth, largely defining meeting in the series, the Rangers and Tampa came up with absolute equality: each of the teams confidently won a couple of home meetings. Club from New York, dominated by Igor Shesterkin in the first two confrontations, he was completely overwhelmed by the reigning champions as soon as the rivals moved to Florida.
Therefore, on Friday night in New York, the series, although it continued, seemed to start from scratch. “Rangers” as the hosts, driven by two defeats in a row, flew forward from the first minutes, organizing a really difficult first period for Andrey Vasilevsky. A hail of attacks rained down on him, in one of which the Tampa goalkeeper had to hit the puck three times in a row in just a few seconds. Although the “lightning” were not so sharp in attack, but on the other hand, they were much closer to realizing their chances. On the Rangers side, the post and crossbar played twice: first Nikita Kucherov a few centimeters were not enough to open the scoring at the very beginning with a throw from afar, and then another Lightning forward Nick Paul could score, but the gate was again against.
In the second period, the “lightning” took their toll on the shots, leveling the situation, but the hosts took the lead first: Ryan Lindgren with a throw from an acute angle, he decided to test Vasilevsky for strength and was, for sure, glad of his attempt. The Russian goalkeeper, who seemed to be expecting a top-down shot, did not have time to react to the puck launched from the bottom.
Most of all, the American comedian Jimmy Fallon, who hosts the popular evening show on television, rejoiced most of all at the home team’s goal. He, like some other stars, came to cheer for the Rangers and entertained the fans a few minutes before the first goal, destroying on camera hot dog and gulped down a glass of beer, half of which poured on himself.
But his joy was short-lived, because at the end of the period, the Russian defender of Tampa, Mikhail Sergachev, who had not yet scored in this playoff, took the floor. At the right moment, at the end of the twenty-minute period, he shot from afar, and Shesterkin, who was covered by several players at once, missed the shot.
Returning after the break with the score 1:1, the rivals seemed to have to start playing more carefully, because the third victory for one of them in the series was at stake. But the game continued on a collision course, the goalkeepers now and then entered the game and saved their partners for mistakes. When it seemed that the match was moving towards overtime, Sergachev again took the floor: almost at the same time as in the second period, he realized a similar shot from a distance. Shesterkin, whose space was once again closed by several hockey players at once, missed him again. In such an important match, Sergachev could have chalked up a double, but later the authorship was officially rewritten to Ondrey Palat, who touched the puck in flight.
The Rangers had less than two minutes to come back, but instead they got another puck, this time into an empty net. The transfer is on Kucherov’s account.
After the final whistle, the hosts tried to cheer themselves up and the fans by organizing several fights, which began with an unexpected blow from the same Kucherov with a club. But the Rangers are unlikely to get satisfaction from this: now the fate of the series can be decided in two days in the sixth meeting, which will be held in Tampa.
NHL. Playoffs
New York Rangers (New York) – Tampa Bay Lightning (Tampa) – 1: 3 (0:0, 1:1, 0:2)
Goals: Lindgren, 30:29. – Sergachev, 37:34, 58:10. Hagel, 59:01.
Score in the series – 2:3