Lightning vs. Rangers: 3 things you need to know about the Eastern Conference final

The New York Rangers ended the Washington Capitals' season on Wednesday to advance to the Eastern Conference Final against the Tampa Bay Lightning, in the process spoiling Alex Ovechkin's guarantee.

Here are three things you need to know before the beasts of the east battle it out for the right to continue on to play for Lord Stanley's Cup.

Ben Bishop vs. Henrik Lundqvist

Henrik Lundqvist was part of one of the best postseason goaltending battles in recent memory against Braden Holtby in the Rangers' second-round playoff series and ended up on the winning side of the war.

The Swede was out of this world against the Capitals, but will he be able to replicate the performance against a much deadlier offensive team from Tampa, while also being able to shake off the exhaustion of the Washington series?

At the other end of the rink stands the gargantuan Bishop, who wasn't as spectacular as Lundqvist, but did what was necessary to get by the Montreal Canadiens and possible league MVP Carey Price.

Bishop, however, is near-flawless against New York in his career.

One concerning statistic for the Lightning is Bishop's workload, which has reached 75 games and 1,793 minutes - both career highs.

The 28-year-old's heavy load obviously affected him against the Canadiens as he looked off balance - though somewhat caused by the Habs crashing the net - and was caught wincing and taking breaks on his knees during in-game action.

The goaltending battle is always one to keep an eye on in any playoff series, but this one has the potential to be a doozy if the netminders are on their games.

Is Stamkos Back?

The Lightning haven't had any trouble scoring in the postseason, averaging 2.62 goals, despite their top scoring threat - Steven Stamkos - not doing much of anything until Game 5 and 6 of the Canadiens series.

But you can't keep a goal-scorer like Stamkos - who has 276 regular season and 11 postseason goals to his credit - off the scoresheet for long.

Though the 25-year-old struggled to get shot attempts for a short stint against the Canadiens, he seems to have figured it out, giving the Lightning more ammunition to fire at Lundqvist.

If Stamkos heats up and starts to do his thing, the Rangers will have a tough time keeping games within a goal like in the Capitals series.

Rangers need more scoring

A perfect segue into the next point.

Holding the Lightning to one- or two-goal games is going to be incredibly tough, even with Conn Smythe candidate Lundqvist between the pipes. They just have too many weapons.

New York has threats of their own in Rick Nash, Martin St. Louis, Derick Brassard and Chris Kreider, but their two-goal average is the lowest of any team in the postseason aside from the Pittsburgh Penguins, so they need more production from their big guys.

Brassard, Kreider and Derek Stepan have done some damage, but St. Louis has been a ghost, while Nash has just two goals on 45 shots.

If St. Louis and Nash can break out of their slumps, the series will be completely different. If they can't, the Rangers' plan to grind out low-scoring wins may blow up in their faces against the Lightning's electric offensive.

Schedule

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