NY Rangers Win Game 7, will Face the Lightning in NHL Conference Finals

By Cheri Cheng - 14 May '15 10:39AM

The New York Rangers will face several familiar faces in the NHL conference finals against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The Rangers, who won Game 7 against the Washington Capitals in overtime, will face former team captain Ryan Callahan, if he is recovers quickly enough from his emergency appendectomy, and ex-teammates, Brian Boyle and Anton Stralman. The Lightning will also see several familiar faces on the ice. Rangers Martin St. Louis, Dan Boyle and Dominic Moore have all played for the Lightning.

The Lightning swept the Rangers in all three meetings this year. However, the teams have not played each other since December.

"It's a team that we obviously had some problems with during the season. If there is one thing I learned throughout the year, it's that the playoffs are a different story and I look forward to that challenge," Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist said.

For this upcoming series, fans can expect very close games that will most likely come down to just one goal. The Rangers after all, have played 12 playoff games that were determined by the smallest margins. Four of their games, including Wednesday's 2-1 victory over the Capitals, went into overtime.

"You have to be smart," captain Ryan McDonagh said about winning the series after being down 3-1 against the Capitals. "We talked about it ... to make sure shifts are short and you don't get overextended out there. We've been in situations like that before and we trust each other out there."

The Rangers also relied heavily on Lundqvist, who made 35 saves before Derek Stepan scored and eliminated the Capitals. Lundqvist became the third goalie to have six Game 7 wins. He joins Patrick Roy and Martin Brodeur.

"We have a good group that keeps their wits about them and keeps calm," said Stepan. "There is no real panic. We just go out and play. We just see what happens and we just play hockey."

Game 1 of the Rangers-Lightning series begins on Saturday at 1 p.m. ET at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Live coverage will be on NBC, CBC and TVA.