NFL
By: Monte Perez
The New York Rangers will take on the Tampa Bay Lightning in the NHL’s Eastern Conference Finals. The Rangers are coming off two grueling series. They defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins and the North Carolina Hurricanes in 7 games.
The lightning defeated a good Toronto Maple Leaf team in 7 games and swept the Florida Panthers, 4-0.
Tampa Bay:
There is a reason the Lightning has won back-to-back Stanley Cups. They are fast, efficient, and playing with a ton of confidence. Nikita Kucherov has 15 points in 11 post-season games. Tampa has 12 players with at least 4 points in the playoffs. They are deep and on any given night, one of their players can be the offensive star.
Andrei Vasilevkiy is one of the best goaltenders in the NHL. He finished the season with a 39-18-5 record and had a goals-against-average of 2.49. He has a .932 save percentage in the post-season and has only given up 25 goals in 11 games.
New York:
The Rangers have won five elimination games this postseason, making them the eighth team in history to accomplish this feat. This is amazing, considering they are only halfway through the playoffs. This is a team that has been resilient and has answered the bell after getting knocked down during this post-season. Mika Zibanajed and Adam Fox have 37 combined points in 18 games. Chris Kreider leads the team with 8 goals.
Igor Shesterkin should win the Vezina Trophy for best goaltender. He has been the best player on the Ice over the past few games.
Prediction:
The last team to win 3 Stanley Cups in a row was the 1980-83 New York Islanders. They won 4 straight championships. For the first time in 2 years, the lightning will not have a decided advantage in goaltending. Shesterkin will be more valuable in this series. New York has the youngest team in the league. They have too much depth and scoring, and will upset the Stanley Cup Champions. The Rangers begin their mini-dynasty this year.
Rangers win in 7 games.
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