Tuesday night had the Tampa Bay Lightning ready to accept the Eastern Conference crown with a victory over the New York Rangers. Instead, Derick Brassard posted a hat trick and five points in a 7-3 win by the Blueshirts.
“Obviously, it felt pretty good,” Brassard said during the off-day interviews. “You know, you try to play well for your team, you try to be involved, and I was just — like I said yesterday, it was just like one of those nights. I was in the right place at the right time. My teammates gave me some really good plays, and I’m just going to try to bring it in Game 7.”
Brassard took home most of the accolades but the Rangers got scoring from across the bench.
Keith Yandle, Rick Nash, JT Miller, and James Sheppard all kicked in goals for the Rangers.
“You know, again, are we going to be into – like last night, it looked like it was going to be another 2-1 game, and it turned out to be a little different, Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said Wednesday. “Games are going to unfold. We’re hoping to be able to make the other team pay for some mistakes.
“In Game 7, you need different guys stepping up, and hopefully we’ll have more than one.”
The trick is getting consistency from either club across the entire bench, including the goalies who have been up and down all series.
In attempting to get his key centers to step up their games, Vigneault is said to have challenged both Brassard and Derek Stepan ahead of Game 6. Brassard did his part with the offense and Stepan was a steady defensive presence in the zone.
“You know, I would always prefer that those conversations stay between a player and a coach. Sometimes players get a little excited after a big win and they don’t want to share things,” Vigneault said when asked what was spoken of during the talks.
“But what started as a challenge, it was more like this is the reality, and this is what we need you guys to do. And they’re both very professional. They both understood what I was talking about, and it wasn’t that big of a deal.”
Brassard and Stepan both described the conversations as productive and honest and both took the intent for which it was meant.
“I think it was more of a conversation more than a challenge,” Stepan said describing the meeting with Vigneault. “I mean, it was all — the whole conversation went in the way that I felt our coach, in a sense, did challenge us. But at the same time, this series is so close that there’s not much separating the two teams.”
“So he wanted that extra push from me and Brass, and Brass responded in a way that I think A.V. really wanted him to and our group really needed him to.
“I think it was a good coaching move by A.V. to kind of come in and at least have a conversation with us and kind of push us to get to that next level.”
On the Lighting end, Ben Bishop was victimized for five goals before being pulled in favor of Andrei Vasilevskiy.
“We’re not going to sit here and sulk and feel sorry for ourselves,” Tampa Bay captain Steven Stamkos said after the loss. “We have to go and win a game on the road to get to the Cup finals. We’re confident with our ability to win a game on the road. For whatever reason, we’ve played better on the road than at home the last couple of times, so we’ll try to put a positive spin on it.”
Tampa coach Jon Cooper was clearly disturbed after the loss and his terse responses in the post game interview reflected that sentiment.
“How do I think we’re going to respond? We’re going to respond the same way we have every time our backs are against the wall,” Cooper said after the game. “You’ve watched it happen all year. You know how they’ll come out.”
Meanwhile, Henrik Lundqvist made 36 saves for the win, yielding three goals in the win.
“Everything on the line again and we found a way,” Lundqvist said after the game. “I felt like we had a really tough time in the second to get pucks deep and they’re a really good team when you don’t get the pucks in the right places. But then in the third, I think maybe our experience in these situations helped us because we come out and play extremely well, a smart period until you get out of hand a little bit.
“It’s tough because you can’t help yourself but you start thinking about the next game while the game is still being played. It’s hard not to go there, so we had to regroup when they got a couple there. But it’s pretty natural. It’s such an important time right now and for us to come through like this in a big game it’s always good for your confidence. It’s a good feeling.”
The Rangers now head home for Game 7 Friday night at Madison Square Garden.
“The Garden has been so great the last few years in the playoffs, and Game 7s are so exciting to play on that ice, and the fans seem to just absolutely light that building up,” Stepan said Wednesday. “It’s a really cool experience, and it makes for a great atmosphere.
“You know, you play all year to get home ice advantage, and that’s what we’re able to do this year. Now we get ourselves in a Game 7 in front of our own fans.”
Brassard said he looks forward to this time of year, the playoffs.
“I think I play with a lot of emotion, and I think at this time of the year that’s what it takes to make a difference, a lot of passion and emotion,” Brassard of his play. “I played four years in the league before I got my first taste of the playoffs, and I think I really enjoy playing at this time. There is nothing better than playing in New York in front of those fans and playing on a good team.”
Everyone gets a chance to play in Game 7 Friday.
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