3 Keys: Lightning at Rangers, Game 1 of Eastern Conference Final

(3A) Lightning at (2M) Rangers
Eastern Conference Final, Game 1
8 p.m. ET; ESPN, CBC, SN, TVAS

The New York Rangers and Tampa Bay Lightning will play Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday.
The Rangers are hosting a conference final game for the first time since May 29, 2015, which was Game 7 against the Lightning, a 2-0 loss.
"I guess it's a little poetic, right?" Rangers left wing Chris Kreider said. "They ended our run there and have won the Stanley Cup a few times. Incredible team that has had a ton of success. They certainly pose a different challenge."
The Rangers got here by coming back from two games down in each of the first two rounds to win in seven. They trailed 3-1 against the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round and 3-2 against the Carolina Hurricanes in the second round.
New York is 5-0 in elimination games. This will be its 15th game in 30 days.
"There certainly has been no quit throughout the season," general manager Chris Drury said. "We battled through different things up and down during the year and found ways to win. We certainly did that in the regular season and in both series to be able to win some games on the road and take care of stuff in our building, a resilient bunch that has had no quit since Day One."
RELATED: [Complete Rangers vs. Lightning series coverage]
Tampa Bay is in the conference final for the third straight year and sixth time in eight years since 2015.
The Lightning reached the conference final by defeating the Toronto Maple Leafs in seven games in the first round and then sweeping the Florida Panthers in the second round, allowing three goals in four games.
They have not played since May 23.
"There's not too many situations we haven't been a part of or don't know what to expect," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said, "and I think that's what's good for our group."
Teams that take a 1-0 lead hold an all-time series record of 505-234 (68.3 percent) in a best-of-7 NHL playoff series including 6-6 in the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Here are 3 keys to Game 1:

1. Rest vs. Rust

The Lightning have had eight full days without a game since defeating the Panthers 2-0 in Game 4 on May 23.
They have practiced and tried their best to simulate game-like situations, but they know that's hard to do in the playoffs.
"People always ask if it's better to have time off or not?" Cooper said. "And the true answer comes depending on the next series and how you play."
The Rangers have been playing every other day except for taking a two-day break between Game 7 against the Penguins and Game 1 against the Hurricanes. Coach Gerard Gallant said he thinks the players like it this way.
"Hopefully it's going to be good for us," Gallant said. "It's eight or nine days [the Lightning are] going to have off. I've had that in the past too. It definitely helps you, you get some jump out of it, but also there's a little rust in your game too. We'll see what happens."

2. Shesterkin vs. Vasilevskiy

Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin and Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy are front and center in the marquee matchup of the series.
"I think it's pretty unanimous that they're the two best goalies in the League," said Rangers forward Barclay Goodrow, who played with the Lightning the past two seasons. "I don't think anyone can put up an argument for that."
Vasilevskiy allowed three goals in four games against the Panthers to get the Lightning to the conference final. Shesterkin is 5-0 with 13 goals against (.930 save percentage) in elimination games.
"I don't think their game plan is going to be entirely different from ours," Kreider said. "Both goalies are so incredible on first shots. They're so mobile, so good side to side, so good with their desperation and obviously very good playing the puck. The focus is going to be on trying to get to the inside like it has been, trying to establish shots, trying to create traffic and trying to make it difficult for them to see pucks."

3. Rangers' power play vs. Lightning penalty kill

New York's potent power play has carried it offensively in the postseason, clicking at 32.5 percent. The Rangers have scored 13 of their 48 goals on the power play.
They are 8-2 when they score on the power play and 0-4 when they don't. It makes that much of a difference for them.
But the Lightning have the best penalty kill remaining in the playoffs at 87.8 percent (36-for-41), including 92.3 percent (12-for-13) against the Panthers in the second round.
They are 6-0 when their penalty kill is perfect and 2-3 when it's not.

Lightning projected lineup

Steven Stamkos -- Anthony Cirelli -- Nikita Kucherov
Ondrej Palat -- Nick Paul -- Alex Killorn
Brandon Hagel -- Ross Colton -- Corey Perry
Patrick Maroon -- Pierre-Edouard Bellemare
Victor Hedman -- Erik Cernak
Ryan McDonagh -- Zach Bogosian
Mikhail Sergachev -- Cal Foote
Jan Rutta
Andrei Vasilevskiy
Brian Elliott
Scratched: Riley Nash
Injured:Brayden Point (lower body)

Rangers projected lineup

Chris Kreider -- Mika Zibanejad -- Frank Vatrano
Artemi Panarin -- Ryan Strome -- Andrew Copp
Alexis Lafreniere -- Filip Chytil -- Kaapo Kakko
Tyler Motte -- Barclay Goodrow -- Ryan Reaves
Ryan Lindgren -- Adam Fox
K'Andre Miller -- Jacob Trouba
Justin Braun -- Braden Schneider
Igor Shesterkin
Alexandar Georgiev
Scratched:Kevin Rooney, Patrik Nemeth, Libor Hajek, Greg McKegg, Julien Gauthier, Jonny Brodzinski, Dryden Hunt
Injured:Sammy Blais (knee)

Status report

Point, a forward, is not expected to play but was on the ice near the end of an optional skate for the first time since he was injured in the first round against the Maple Leafs in Game 7. … Hagel, who has not missed a game, did not take part in the optional skate, but could play. He was injured when his foot was struck by a puck in Game 2 against the Panthers. … The Lightning are likely to use 11 forwards and seven defenseman, which they did in each game in the Florida series. .. The Rangers did not hold a morning skate.