The New York Rangers will play the Tampa Bay Lightning on Friday night in a winner takes all Game 7 in their Eastern Conference Final with a place in the NHL Stanley Cup Final 2015 up for grabs for the winner.
The game is scheduled with a start time of 8 p.m. ET and takes place from Madison Square Garden in New York. The game will be broadcast live on TV on the NBS Sports network, but can also be watched online through live stream via the link provided below.
After six games there is absolutely nothing between these two teams and so it comes down to one game tonight to see who will progress to the Stanley Cup Final to face either the Anaheim Ducks or the Chicago Blackhawks, who will also face off in their own Game 7 tomorrow night.
Even though most would say the Rangers have the advantage for today's Game 7 as they will be on home ice, but in this series, four of the six wins have come on the road, meaning the Lightning will not be fazed by the challenge to win at Madison Square Garden tonight.
However, they will be facing a New York Rangers team that has gained a reputation of being Game 7 experts over the past two seasons. Especially when it comes to Game 7's at MSG, the Rangers have a perfect franchise record, going 7-0. Since 2012 in Game 7's at MSG they are 4-0.
Rangers defenseman Marc Staal said, "There's nothing calm about a Game 7 with a chance to go to the Stanley Cup Final, but we're confident. Obviously this has a lot more at stake, but we've had a lot of success in these games and we'll take that confidence into our building."
Meanwhile, Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist said, "You're definitely nervous, but it comes down to teamwork. I feel comfortable when we're in the right place, when we're doing good things out there. I feel like it's easier for me to focus on my game, and that's a big part of winning these games too. You focus on the team concept and the things that brought you to this moment."
Lundqvist is the ultimate Game 7 expert, and coming into today's game he has won an NHL record of six consecutive Game 7's. Overall he is 6-1 in Game 7's in his career, with a 0.97 goals-against average and .966 save percentage in Game 7's.
However, despite the Rangers' amazing record in Game 7's, the Lightning refuse to be distracted or disheartened by their task tonight. Center Tyler Johnson said, "I kind of think history is a little irrelevant. It's all different. You're not playing the same teams. You're not playing in the same situations. We've had some success [at Madison Square Garden] this series. We just have to play our game and focus on what we need to do."
This postseason, the Rangers have faced elimination four times but are 4-0, and since 2012 they are 15-3 when facing elimination. If they can continue their fantastic record when things come to the crunch, then the Rangers could find themselves celebrating another Stanley Cup Final showing tonight.
Today's big Game 7 between the New York Rangers and the Tampa Bay Lightning has a scheduled start time of 8 p.m. ET, and can be watched on TV on the NBC Sports network.
