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.

And yes, it is easy for me to say and easy for me to chastise this club that has played 18 games in 36 days and has defied expectations just the way they did throughout the season. But here they are, two victories away from the final, six victories away from lifting the chalice, and if this is representative of what the Blueshirts have left, it won’t be good enough.

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from Luke Fox of Sportsnet,

They were not themselves.

Maybe they were banged up and exhausted. That would be understandable after slogging through more playoff games (63 and counting) in a 22-month span than most NHLers get in a career.

Maybe they were too rusty, too rested. That, too, would be understandable after sitting outside the ring and watching the fight for nine days while their opponent, the New York Rangers, arrived high off Game 7 desperation.

Whatever the cause, the mighty Tampa Bay Lightning tiptoed into this Eastern Conference final — their sixth in eight years — resembling a group that might finally be ready to pass the torch.

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