Getty Images
Getty Images

The home ice of Madison Square Garden has always been lucky for the New York Rangers. Friday night the New York Rangers will look to eliminate the Tampa Bay Lightning on home ice. NHL home teams have a pretty impressive record of 94-65 all-time in Game 7s. Better yet, the Rangers are 7-0 all-time when playing a Game 7 at Madison Square Garden. Pretty impressive, but will that home ice success continue?

If your the Rangers, it is time to keep the ball rolling and continue this Game 7 success. A key factor in this game Game 7 will be the goaltending of Henrik Lundqvist. He too has stellar Game 6 and 7 game stats. He is 6-0 with a .965 SV% and a 1.13 GAA with one shutout in his last 6 playoff Game 6 or 7. He is definitely a key factor in Friday night’s matchup. The Rangers will also need Derick Brassard and Rick Nash to continue their hot play.

As for the Lightning, they have many reasons to be confident. Although they have not had a huge history of Game 7 success, or opportunities for that matter, they are the highest scoring team during the NHL regular season. They have impressive depth on forwards, and arguably the best young defenseman in the league in Victor Hedman. The key factor for the Lightning on Friday night just might be their attitude and resilience. When questioned about the Rangers Game 7 success, Lightning forward Alex Killorn summed it up by saying “I guess that means they’re due to lose, eh?”

Friday night’s game will be played in New York City at Madison Square Garden at 7:00 pm EST.

[pb_vidembed title=”” caption=”” url=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHZBIhzGj7o” type=”yt” w=”600″ h=”485″]

5243__stanley_cup_playoffs-primary-2015