The Tampa Bay Lightning will face the New York Rangers Wednesday night in their final regular season matchup, already knowing they’ll square off against the Montreal Canadiens when the Stanley Cup playoffs begin this weekend.
What remains uncertain is whether that opening playoff game will take place in the United States or north of the border.
Currently sitting in second place within the Atlantic Division with a 50-25-6 record and 106 points, Tampa Bay can secure home ice advantage for Game 1 by either beating New York or having Montreal suffer a regulation defeat Tuesday night against Philadelphia.
The Lightning and Canadiens are deadlocked in the standings as they prepare for their fifth postseason meeting in franchise history. Their most recent playoff encounter came during the 2021 Stanley Cup Final, a series that resulted from COVID-19 pandemic realignment.
Tampa Bay currently holds the home ice tiebreaker advantage due to their 40-34 edge in regulation wins over Montreal.
New York enters the contest with a disappointing 33-39-9 record worth 75 points, finishing dead last in the Eastern Conference standings. The Rangers split their season series with Tampa Bay at 1-1-0.
Both previous meetings between these teams featured lopsided results. The Rangers dominated in a 7-3 victory at Tampa Bay on November 12, while the Lightning answered back with a convincing 4-1 road win during Thanksgiving weekend.
The Rangers’ season took a dramatic downturn following that Black Friday period.
Head coach Mike Sullivan’s squad fell completely out of wild-card contention after posting a dismal 10-17-5 record across a three-month span covering December, January, and a shortened February due to Winter Olympic scheduling.
Monday night brought an emotional moment for New York as they honored retiring goaltender Jonathan Quick in his final career start. Despite the tribute, the Rangers fell 3-2 to the Florida Panthers, who executed a defensive strategy and converted on three of their 16 shots against the 2011-12 Conn Smythe Trophy recipient.
“I thought Quicky played well for us,” Sullivan commented after his entire team wore Quick’s No. 32 jersey during pregame warmups. “Obviously, tonight was about a celebration for him. … He’s an inspiration to all of us, just in his example and how he carries himself. In a lot of ways, he personifies what we hope to become as a group.”
“His work ethic, his attention to detail, just incredible attitude. His professionalism is second to no one’s. … We’re all better that we’ve had the opportunity to work with him.”
Tampa Bay managed to stay even with Montreal following Monday’s thrilling 4-3 overtime win against Detroit, despite surrendering a two-goal advantage heading into the final period.
Nikita Kucherov delivered the game-winner just 27 seconds into the extra frame, capitalizing on his team’s opening possession by completing a give-and-go sequence with Brayden Point that created a decisive two-on-one opportunity.
Lightning head coach Jon Cooper believes Kucherov deserves consideration for a second Hart Trophy, having previously claimed the award for the 2018-19 campaign. The star forward paces Tampa Bay across all offensive categories with 44 goals, 86 assists, and 130 total points.
“There are some fabulous players in this league. … He’s pretty darn important to us,” Cooper stated after positioning his team to control their playoff seeding this weekend. “Could you make a case for a bunch of guys? Yes. But I think it’s pretty evident that Kuch has made a name for himself this year, that he should be the guy.”
Lightning netminder Andrei Vasilevskiy made a crucial toe save on Alex DeBrincat’s breakaway attempt on the first overtime shot, preserving the game and setting up Kucherov’s heroics nine seconds later.
Vasilevskiy, a strong contender for this year’s Vezina Trophy, leads all NHL goaltenders in victories with a 39-15-4 record. The 2018-19 Vezina winner maintains a 2.31 goals-against average (second-best league-wide) and .912 save percentage (tied for third).
