New York Rangers seize Game 1 of Eastern Conference finals from 'rusty' Tampa Bay Lightning

NEW YORK — The New York Rangers entered Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals with their adrenaline still pumping from Monday's Game 7 win at the Carolina Hurricanes. The Tampa Bay Lightning, in contrast, hit the ice for the first time since completing a sweep of the Florida Panthers way back on May 23.

Their respective layoffs showed in the Rangers' 6-2 romp over the Lightning on Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden to take a 1-0 series lead.

«There was a lot of sharpness [for us]. Like we talked about, our team just kept going. We got a day off, we played a game, and it really looked good for us tonight,» Rangers coach Gerard Gallant said. «Obviously, they were a little bit rusty tonight. They weren't the same, being nine days off. It makes a difference.»

His counterpart, Jon Cooper, noted that rustiness, too.

«We might have gotten a little tired as the game went on. We hadn't played in a game in a while here,» he said. «But that's no excuse on our part. I give the Rangers full marks on their game.»

The Lightning players weren't looking to use the layoff as a defense for their lack of defense, either.

«We certainly didn't have our best,» Lightning captain Steven Stamkos said. «It is what it is. We're not a group that's going to use that as an excuse. We have to be better.»

The game was billed as a goaltending duel between the Lightning's Andrei Vasilevskiy, who won playoff MVP honors for the back-to-back Stanley Cup champions last summer, and the Rangers' Igor Shesterkin, who is expected to win the Vezina Trophy as the league's top goaltender this season.

Instead, the Rangers scored more goals in one game than Vasilevskiy had surrendered in his previous five games combined.

New York was on the Lightning from the