What really went wrong for the New York Rangers in Game 3

Jun 5, 2022; Tampa, Florida, USA; New York Rangers defenseman Jacob Trouba (8) and Tampa Bay Lightning right wing Corey Perry (10) get tripped up during the third period of the Eastern Conference Final of the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Amalie Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

The New York Rangers were completely overmatched from the time Nikita Kucherov scored on the power play at the 10:50 mark in the second period on.

By the time Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Final ended, the Tampa Bay Lightning outshot the Blueshirts 52 to 30 and won the game 3-2.

Yet, despite being outplayed so bad the Rangers were just 41.6 seconds away from trying to win in it OT. Ondrej Palat converted an incredible backhand feed from Kucherov to get Tampa back in the series.

“They were the better team tonight overall,” Gerard Gallant said. “It went down to the wire and we had a chance to win late in the hockey game. Disappointing, but we will move on and get ready for the next one.”

So what went wrong for the Rangers in this game? Tampa bumping Shesterkin It was obvious from the onset that the Lightning planned to bump Igor Shesterkin early and often to get him off his game.

Did it work? Making 49 saves on 52 shots says no. Tampa also took two penalties on contact plays with Shesterkin that the Rangers converted on. Not exactly a recipe for longterm success.