2022 Stanley Cup playoffs - New York Rangers-Tampa Bay Lightning Game 5 preview, X factors, prediction

The New York Rangers return to Madison Square Garden for Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals on Thursday following two straight wins by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Sunshine State that evened the series at 2-2.

«We're one of three teams left here. You expect their best. You want their best. And we want to show we can beat the best,» Rangers defenseman Jacob Trouba said. «We feel we're an up-and-coming team. We've arrived. We want to play these games.»

What's the greater force: The Rangers' home winning streak, which stands at eight playoff games, or the Lightning's momentum in the series?

Here's our breakdown of Game 5:

Rangers: Adam Fox. The Rangers defenseman had his most pedestrian performance of the playoffs in Game 4. He was a minus-3 on the scoresheet and didn't register a shot attempt in 23:44 of ice time. To put that in perspective: This was the only postseason game in which Fox failed to register a shot, and just the third game in which he didn't tally a point — the other two coming on the road against the Carolina Hurricanes.

The good news is that the Rangers' brilliant young blueliner has feasted on home cooking, leading them with 13 points in nine home games. They'll need more from their back end offensively if their forward group is impacted by injuries, and Fox can provide that. Obviously, a little more power-play time would help: While the Rangers went 1-for-2 in Game 4, they had only 1:15 with the man advantage, when Fox is so effective as a quarterback.

Lightning: Nikita Kucherov. As captain Steven Stamkos told me, the Lightning know when Kucherov is on and it sets the tone for them when he is. The former Hart Trophy winner has become the series' most impactful player. He was on the ice for eight