Stanley Cup Playoffs Buzz: Lightning's Vasilevskiy not tested enough

Welcome to the Stanley Cup Playoffs Buzz, a daily in-depth look at the 2022 NHL postseason. There are no playoff games scheduled for Friday, the 40th day of the postseason.

#

What we learned

Rangers need more to beat Vasilevskiy
The New York Rangers were better than they were in Games 3 and 4, but in the end, 25 shots on goal is rarely enough to win a game when Andrei Vasilevskiy is the goalie you're trying to beat. The Rangers had some chances and did a good job of limiting the Lightning's opportunities, but they managed one goal against Vasilevskiy in a 3-1 loss that gave Tampa Bay a 3-2 lead in the best-of-7 Eastern Conference Final. Vasilevskiy was 13-1-0 in the regular season when he faced 25 or fewer shots. He faced 25 shots in Games 4 and 5 against the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round, winning one and losing one. But New York, for as sound defensively and as disciplined as they were in Game 5, did not test the Tampa Bay goalie enough. There was a too much east-west passing and not enough shooting; it didn't connect often enough to result in enough quality opportunities. To win Game 6 and force a Game 7, the Rangers need to make Vasilevskiy work more. -- Dan Rosen, senior writer
Palat is a big-game player
Ondrej Palat came through for the Lightning again by scoring the winning goal Thursday. In Tampa Bay's three straight wins to take the series lead, the forward has five points (three goals, two assists), including the winning goal with 41.6 seconds left in a 3-2 victory in Game 3 and his goal with 1:50 remaining Thursday. Palat's 11 NHL career game-winning playoff goals are the most in Lightning history. Only Joe Pavelski (14) and Evgeni Malkin (13) have scored more among active players. After scoring 49 points (18 goals, 31 assists) in 77 games during the regular season, Palat has 14 points in 16 playoff games, and leads Tampa Bay with eight goals. -- Tom Gulitti, staff writer

#

About last night

Palat's late goal put the Rangers on the brink of elimination with a 3-1 Lightning victory in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Final at Madison Square Garden. Tampa Bay has won three straight to take the lead in the best-of-7 series and can advance to the Stanley Cup Final for the third straight season with a win in Game 6 at Amalie Arena on Saturday. New York, which had its eight-game winning home playoff winning streak end in Game 5, is 5-0 in elimination games this season. The Rangers won three against the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round after going down 3-1 in the series and two against the Carolina Hurricanes in the second round. Palat's goal, his second game-winner of the series, came on a deflection of a shot by defenseman Mikhail Sergachev from the right point. Sergachev scored the first goal and Vasilevskiy made 24 saves for the Lightning. Defenseman Ryan Lindgren scored and Igor Shesterkin made 24 saves for the Rangers.

#

Hot links

Here is a roundup of NHL.com's coverage of the Stanley Cup Playoffs:
Ray of sunshine
On the 21st anniversary of winning the Stanley Cup for the Colorado Avalanche, Hall of Fame defenseman Ray Bourque
talks to NHL.com
about this season's Avalanche on their run to the Cup Final.
Take your pick
Darcy Kuemper is fully healthy and available to play for the Avalanche in the Stanley Cup Final,
but it's unclear if he or Pavel Francouz
will start Game 1.
To your health
The Avalanche are hopeful centers Nazem Kadri and Andrew Cogliano
could be available at some point
during the Stanley Cup Final.
Better late than never
After dubbing themselves the "Tampa Bay Find-a-ways" earlier in the season,
the Lightning did it again
in Game 5 against the Rangers.
Been there, done that
Once again, the Rangers'
backs are against the wall
in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.