from Larry Brooks of the New York Post,

Listen, we all understood how arduous the task would be for the Rangers to dethrone the two-time defending Lightning in the Eastern Conference Final, even when the Blueshirts took the first two games of the series at the Garden.

But the caliber of the opposition and the degree of difficulty of this challenge does not line up with the Rangers’ response here in Games 3 and 4. It isn’t that they lost twice, it isn’t even that they failed to score a five-on-five goal in 120:00 after recording eight in the first 101:21 of the series.

It is that the club’s level of desperation did not seem close to matching Tampa Bay’s. And if the Rangers are going to be able to do this, their level of commitment and desire needs an exponential increase.

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from John Romano of the Tampa Bay Times,

This is what patience looks like. This is what trust looks like.

It is unhappy, but never exasperated. It is frustrated, but never panics. It is a hockey team that can look slow and befuddled at the start of a series, and then calmly reverse its fortunes in 48 hours.

Say hello to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

They weren’t quite facing the abyss in the Eastern Conference final against the New York Rangers, but they were close enough to feel a cool breeze at their backs. They responded by winning a thriller in Game 3, and then romping to a 4-1 victory in Game 4 on Tuesday night.

Just like that, the series is tied and is now a best-of-three affair.

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