Igor Shesterkin, Filip Chytil lead Rangers' rout of Lightning in ECF opener

Behind a flurry of offense and solid goaltending, the Rangers took the conference final opener in a rout, inching one step closer to reaching the Stanley Cup Final. 

Six Rangers finished with two points on the night, led by Filip Chytil, who scored two goals, including the game-winner. Along with Chytil, five Rangers tallied goals, including Chris Kreider, Frank Vatrano, Artemi Parnarin, and Mika Zibanejad.

Despite being outshot 39-34 by the Lightning, Rangers' goaltender Igor Shesterkin turned away 37 of 39 shots to earn the win in net. 

Tampa Bay goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy struggled, making 28 saves off 34 shots. 

Steven Stamkos and Ondrej Palat scored for Lightning. 

New York dominated in the face-off circle, winning 60 percent of the draws in Game 1. The Rangers' special teams also shined, shutting down Tampa Bay's powerplay (0-for-4) while going 1-for-2 with the man advantage. 

With Game 1 tied 2-2 midway through the second period, Chytil scored the first of his two goals on the night at 10:09 of the period to break the tie for good. Just over five minutes later, Chytil netted his second goal of the night, giving the Rangers a 4-2 advantage after two periods. 

In the third, Panarin scored just 30 seconds into the period before Zibanejad added another at 6:06 to clinch Game 1. 

The Rangers will host the Lightning for Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Final on Friday at 8 p.m.