Blueshirt Breakdown: NYR 6 vs. TBL 2 - Game 1

LEADING THE CHARGE- The Rangers took a 1-0 series lead, gaining their first series lead of these playoffs. Heading into tonight, the Blueshirts were the first team in NHL history to make a Conference Finals appearance without holding a series lead until winning Game 7 in each of their previous two series. At home, New York improved to 20-8 all-time in Game 1 of a best-of-seven series.
HOMETOWN HEROES - New York won its franchise record seventh-straight home playoff game, matching Carolina (2022) and Chicago (2014) for the longest since 2014. Five teams in the past 25 postseasons have posted a longer run at home at any time: 2008 Penguins (9 GP), 1997 Red Wings (9 GP), 2013 Kings (8 GP), 2009 Red Wings (8 GP) and 2003 Devils (8 GP). The Blueshirts are 7-1 at home in these playoffs, their only loss coming in triple overtime of Game 1 in the First Round.
THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT - The trio of Alexis Lafreniere (2A), Filip Chytil (2G), and Kaapo Kakko (1A) accumulated a total of five points tonight and all, individually, had a plus-2 rating. All three players are 22 or under (Lafreniere - 20, Kakko - 21, Chytil - 22).
GOALS GALORE - The Blueshirts scored six goals in back-to-back playoff games for the sixth time in team history and first time since April 17-18, 1994. New York has scored five-plus goals in three-straight playoff games for the fourth time in team history and first time since 1994 (6 GP).
ALL THAT POWER- The Rangers scored a power play goal in a sixth-straight game, matching the franchise record (1990, 1986) and tying Washington for the longest streak in the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
FAST START - Chris Kreider scored 71 seconds into the game, the fastest goal to start a Rangers playoff contest since Rick Nash in Game 5 of the 2016 First Round in Pittsburgh (62 seconds). It also marked the franchise's second-fastest goal to begin a Conference Finals/Semifinals contest, behind Game 3 of 2015 Conference Finals (1:02), also against the Lightning. In these playoffs, the Blueshirts are 7-3 when scoring first.

• Filip Chytil scored two goals in the Rangers win, extending his goal scoring streak to three games. Only one Rangers skater has posted a longer run in the playoffs before the age of 23: Alex Kovalev (4 GP in 1994). Chytil has five goals in his past three games, tying Mike Gartner (5 in 3 GP in 1990) and Pentti Lund (5 in 3 GP in 1950) for the most through a three-game span by a Rangers skater in the postseason. In addition, only four skaters in Rangers history have recorded more postseason goals before age 23 than Chytil (7): Alex Kovalev (13), Ron Duguay (11), Don Maloney (8) and Don Murdoch (8).
  - Mika Zibanejad recorded two points (1G-1A), giving him 21 points (8G-13A) in the postseason. He became the seventh player in Rangers history to record 20 points in a single postseason and tied Wayne Gretzky (1997) and Mark Messier (1994) for the second-fewest games among that cohort to reach the mark. Only Brian Leetch (12 GP in 1994) hit the mark faster. Zibanejad scored his fifth power play tally of the postseason, one shy of matching Adam Graves' (6) for the most by a Ranger in a single postseason. Zibanejad has goals in five of his last six games and points in six-straight contests (5G-5A).
  - Igor Shesterkin won his seventh straight playoff game at Madison Square Garden, becoming the first goaltender to post a seven-game home win streak in a playoff year since Corey Crawford with the Blackhawks in 2014. Shesterkin has allowed two or fewer goals in seven of his last eight games and has won five of his last six games. Since Game 5 against Pittsburgh in the First Round, Shesterkin has posted an 8-3 record with a .940 save percentage and 2.08 goals against average.
  - Chris Kreider opened the scoring with his ninth goal of the postseason and 33rd career playoff goal, one shy of tying Rod Gilbert for the most in Rangers postseason history (34). Kreider has 61 goals (regular season and playoffs combined) in 2021-22, one shy of tying Adam Graves' 62 in 1993-94. Tonight, Kreider recorded his 51st career playoff point (33G-18A), tying Walt Tkaczuk (19G-32A) for fifth place on the Rangers' all-time point list.
  - Adam Fox recorded two assists/points and extended his home point streak to a franchise record eight playoff games, surpassing Mark Messier. Only five defensemen in NHL history have recorded a longer playoff home point streak than Fox: Ray Bourque (10 GP in 1991), Paul Coffey (10 GP in 1985), Al MacInnis (9 GP in 1989), Paul Reinhart (9 GP in 1986) and Denis Potvin (9 GP in 1983). With 20 points (5G-15A) in the playoffs, Fox has the second most points by a defenseman in Rangers history in one playoff year (Leetch - 34 in 1994). Fox tied Gary Suter (18 GP) for the second-fewest playoff games to reach 20 career playoff points by a defenseman in NHL history behind only Al MacInnis (17 GP). Lastly, Fox recorded his fifth multi-point game of the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs, trailing only Brian Leetch (9 in 1994) and Sergei Zubov (6 in 1994) for the most by a Rangers defenseman in a single postseason.
  - Frank Vatrano collected his second multi-point game (1G-1A) in his last five contests, giving him 10 points (4G-6A) in these playoffs. Vatrano is the sixth Ranger with 10 or more points in the postseason, tying New York with Colorado for the most 10-plus point getters in these playoffs.
  - Alexis Lafrenière tallied two assists, boosting his totals to nine points (2G-7A) in his first career playoff season. Lafrenière surpassed Niklas Sundstrom (7 in 11 GP) for the second most career playoff points by a Rangers player age 20 or younger. Don Maloney (20 in 18 GP) is the only such skater with more.
  - Artemi Panarin notched a point in a fourth-straight game (2G-2A) and has points in five of his last six contests. In the regular season and playoffs combined, Panarin has 108 points, tied for the 12th most in a single season by a Ranger.
  - Andrew Copptallied an assist, boosting his totals to 13 points in the playoffs (6G-7A). Copp has recorded six points in his last five games (2G-4A).
  - Kaapo Kakko recorded an assist for a second-straight game, giving him four points (1G-3A) in the playoffs.
  - Jacob Trouba & K'Andre Miller both recorded assists tonight. In these playoffs, Rangers defensemen have accumulated eight goals and 31 assists for 39 points. They rank second in the league in both assists and points behind Colorado.