Mishkin's Musings: The 2015 Eastern Conference Final

Our trip down memory lane from the 2015 playoffs continues this week with the Eastern Conference Final. After knocking off Montreal in six games, the Lightning advanced to meet the New York Rangers, winners of the 2014-15 Presidents' Trophy. Station 620 WDAE is rebroadcasting the four Lightning wins from that series. Game Five is tonight and Game Seven will be on Saturday.

As detailed in last week's column, the Lightning were no longer dealing with the weight of expectations at this point in the postseason. Once they had secured their first round win over Detroit, the Lightning had already improved upon their 2014 playoff performance. Still, there was no indication that they were "just happy" to be one of four remaining teams. Instead, they brought a "Why Not Us? Why Not Now?" attitude into the New York series.

By comparison, the Rangers, in terms of expectations, were in a much different place. This would be their third Conference Final appearance in the past four seasons. They had reached the Stanley Cup Final the year before. They had posted the most points in the League during the regular season and owned home ice advantage for the series. Similar to Montreal, the Rangers and their fans felt that 2015 was going to be their year.

But New York almost didn't make it to the ECF. After dispatching Pittsburgh in five games during the opening round, the Rangers faced Washington in Round Two. The Caps stole Game One, 2-1, thanks to a last second goal from Joel Ward. After winning Games Three and Four in Washington, the Caps had a 3-1 series lead. In Game Five, the Rangers were less than two minutes away from elimination, trailing 1-0. But Chris Kreider tied it at 18:19 and set up Ryan McDonagh's winner at 9:37 of the first overtime. New York built a 4-1 lead in Game Six and, with the help of Henrik Lundqvist's 42 saves, held on for a 4-3 victory. That set up one of the most dramatic Game Seven contests in recent seasons. Tied at one after sixty minutes, the teams headed to overtime knowing the next goal would win the series. Derek Stepan was the hero, scoring the clinching tally at 11:24.

It had been an emotional, grueling series for the Rangers. Not unlike what the Lightning had faced in the first round against Detroit. As detailed in last week's column, they only had one day to recover before beginning the next series versus Montreal. The Rangers got two days off after surviving the Washington series, which ended on May 13. The Lightning had eliminated Montreal on May 12. Game One of the ECF would be played on May 16.

Over the course of the first two rounds, the Lightning had won games in a variety of ways. They had scored four or more goals in four of their eight wins. They had also won three games when they scored only twice. Conversely, the Rangers had mostly played low-scoring games versus Pittsburgh and Washington. All four of their victories over the Penguins were by a 2-1 score. Add in the Game Five and Seven wins against Washington. So the Rangers scored only two goals in six of their first eight playoff victories. And in their three losses to Washington, the Rangers had held the Caps to two goals or less!

Game One of the ECF followed the same low-scoring script that had been a staple of New York's postseason run to that point. Stepan opened the scoring late in the second period before Ondrej Palat tied it with a power play goal early in the third. Frustratingly for the Lightning, they squandered two additional power play chances after Palat's tally. The second of those was a call against former Lightning center Dominic Moore at 15:05 of the third. Not only did the Lightning not score on that man advantage, they allowed the eventual winner to Moore exactly 30 seconds after he exited the box.

In Game One, the Rangers produced those two crucial successful penalty kills after having allowed a tying power play goal. But in Game Two, the Lightning used their special teams play to even the series. They did allow two power play goals to the Rangers in the game, but early on, their penalty kill produced a big momentum swing. The Lightning were called for two penalties 53 seconds apart, giving the Rangers a five-on-three for 1:07. Not only did the Lightning kill off both infractions, they grabbed the lead. With the Lightning still down two men, Tyler Johnson got loose on a breakaway and scored his ninth goal of the postseason. Officially, the goal came exactly two minutes after the first penalty expired, but in terms of on-ice strength, it was still a five-on-three. Following Johnson's shorty, the Lightning killed off the second penalty. Even though the Rangers eventually tied the score with a power play tally later in the frame, the Lightning, thanks to their early work on the PK, never trailed in Game Two. And the Lightning got production from their own power play. Johnson converted on a four-on-three at 11:15 of the first to make it 2-1. He completed his playoff hat trick at 8:17 of the second, giving the Lightning a 3-1 lead. Although the Rangers got one back before the period ended, the Lightning blew the game open with three more tallies in the third, including two additional power play goals. The Lightning won it, 6-2. The Rangers weren't used to seeing this kind of offensive production from the opposition. They had held their opponents to two goals or less in 11 of their first 13 playoff games. Prior to Game Two, they most they had yielded had been four goals in a game.

Back home for Game Three, the Lightning proved that their Game Two offensive outburst wasn't a fluke. Unlike in Game Two, they needed to rally from an early deficit. Before the first period was 10 minutes old, the Rangers had built a 2-0 lead. But just over a minute after the second New York goal, the Lightning answered. Steven Stamkos and Alex Killorn teamed up on a two-on-one - Stamkos converted a tap-in, cutting the New York lead in half. Then, just past the 10-minute mark of the second period, the Lightning's offense erupted. Palat, Johnson and Killorn scored over a 6:46 span. But just as the Lightning had responded quickly after falling behind by two, so too did the Rangers. On the shift after Killorn's tally made it 4-2, Jesper Fast netted his second of the game. The seesaw continued into the third. McDonagh's power play goal tied the game at 2:28. Palat scored again with less than six minutes left before former Lightning defenseman Dan Boyle knotted things at 18:04. The winner came from Nikita Kucherov at 3:33 of overtime - he angled into the offensive zone and zipped a wrist shot from the high slot past Lundqvist.

Game Three was a wild affair. Lots of scoring chances. Both teams squandered two-goal leads. They combined for 11 goals. The Rangers, who had allowed a total of 21 goals in their first 13 playoff games, now had been torched for 12 goals in the past two. Also, they had netted a playoff-high five goals - in a loss.

What was happening here? Was this series going to be wide-open like in Games Two and Three? Or revert to the low-scoring style of Game One? As we now know, over the final four games of the series, it would continue to be both.

Heading into Game Four, the Rangers needed to find an answer for the Lightning's prolific offense. They did that, with a lot of help from Lundqvist. The "King" made 38 saves and held the Lightning to one goal. Offensively, the Rangers continued their productive ways. They broke open a 1-1 game with two tallies late in the second and pulled away in the third. The 5-1 New York win tied the series at two games apiece.

Duriig several of their victories earlier in the playoffs, the Lightning showed that they were capable of playing a structured, tight, defensive game. That hadn't been on display in either of their wins over the Rangers. Until Game Five, that is. In what was their best defensive performance so far in the series, the Lightning effectively suffocated the Rangers attack. New York had netted 10 goals over the past two games, but the Rangers struggled to find time and space in Game Five. Just past the halfway point of the second period, Valtteri Filppula scored off the rush to open the scoring. Late in the frame, Stamkos added to the lead with a tap-in power play goal. That was more than enough offensive support for Ben Bishop, who made 26 saves in recording a 2-0 shutout.

That stout team defense abandoned the Lightning in Game Six, a 7-3 loss that tied the series at three. It's possible that, for the first time in the series, they felt the pressure of the moment. Playing at home with a chance to reach the Stanley Cup Final. The Rangers had a role to play in the outcome too, producing an outstanding game from start to finish. Two early goals in Game Six gave them a lead and they eventually broke open a 2-1 contest with five third period tallies.

There were two days off between Games Six and Seven. During that time, Lightning players heard repeatedly about how the Rangers had never lost a Game Seven at home. That record, of course, included the Round Two Game Seven win over the Caps. And the Rangers were coming off a seven-goal outburst in the previous contest. But from the opening faceoff, it was clear that Game Seven was going to be very different from Game Six. The Lightning weren't going to be affected by the enormity of the stakes. Or by the location. Game Five had been the Lightning's best defensive effort to that point in the series. They would outdo that performance in a Game Seven masterpiece. Certainly, there were similarities between those two games, including the final score. The Rangers again had no time or space with which they could work. They didn't post many shots. But there were slight differences between the games, too. In Game Five, the Lightning defended well. In Game Seven, they defended brilliantly. I don't remember the Rangers generating even one scoring chance throughout the game. And while the Lightning eventually broke a 0-0 tie with Killorn's backhand goal at 1:54 of the third, they had been the more dangerous team during the first two periods. Palat scored off a two-on-one at 11:17 to make it 2-0. But the way the Lightning were defending, it felt that Palat's tally made it 10-0. There was no way the Rangers were coming back. They finished with only 22 shots. Bishop recorded his second shutout of the series. It was also his second Game Seven shutout of the playoffs.

There's no clear, clean narrative to the 2015 Eastern Conference Final. Both teams won by blowout. Both teams captured low-scoring games. The road team was victorious in five of seven games, including each of the last four contests. In the final three games combined, the Rangers scored seven goals. But they all came in Game Six.

For the Lightning, there were several noteworthy individual performances. Johnson had the Game Two hat trick and finished with four goals in the series. Palat, Stamkos, and Killorn also netted four goals over the seven games. Kucherov delivered the Game Three OT winner. Bishop had those two shutouts. Ryan Callahan heroically returned from an emergency appendectomy in Game Two (he missed just two playoff games due to the procedure). But ultimately, it was the Lightning's defensive play as a team in Games Five and Seven that proved to be the difference.

Most Impressive Win: Game Seven

Best Defensive Performance: Game Seven

Honorable Mention for Best Defensive Performance: Game Five

Most Dramatic Win: Game Three

Special Teams Win: Game Two