TAMPA, Fla. — The Lightning hadn’t been able to beat the Rangers in two previous meetings, but in Saturday night’s prime-time national TV matchup, they came out of the gate looking to push the pace.
Tampa Bay went up early with a first-period power-play goal from Brayden Point, his first goal in seven games. The Lightning stymied the Rangers’ second-ranked power-play unit, but still seemed to be playing with fire with penalties.
The Lightning entered having committed 22 penalties over their past four games, and they continued to put themselves in the penalty box Saturday.
Ultimately, it came back to haunt them, as Rangers forward Mika Zibanejad scored the winning power-play goal with 16 seconds left in regulation, sending the Lightning to a 2-1 loss.
The Lightning were 5 for 5 on the penalty kill before defenseman Erik Cernak committed a high sticking penalty with 2:15 remaining.
Goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy kept his teammates in the game, and along with Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin made Saturday’s game a defensive duel.
Point’s been determined to drive to the net, and even though he didn’t score a goal during the Lightning’s just-completed six-game road trip, he has created numerous chances for himself and his linemates.
With the Lightning on the power play in the first period, Anthony Cirelli’s shot at the net was stopped by Shesterkin, but remained live at his pads, and Point jumped into action and poked the puck between the goalie’s legs with 3:29 left in the first period.
It was Point’s 23rd goal of the season and his first since the Lightning’s last home game March 4 against Detroit.
The Rangers evened the score 9:25 into the second period when Jacob Trouba put in a loose puck in front of the net past Vasilevskiy. The Lightning challenged the goal, arguing goalie interference with Rangers wing Dryden Hunt in the paint, but officials in New York ruled their was no interference.
That put the Rangers on one of their four power plays in the second period, including one that continued into the the first 1:02 of the third period after Alex Killorn was called for hooking while trying to stop Zibanejad’s breakaway in the final minute of the second period.
Pat Maroon was given two penalties — resulting in a Rangers power play — after he ran into Shesterkin behind the net, prompting a fight with Ryan Lindgren. Maroon and Rangers enforcer Ryan Reaves dropped their gloves in the third, resulting in matching five-minute fighting majors.
The Lightning’s penalty kill unit was 5 for 5 going into the final period, stopping a Rangers power play operating at a 26.9% clip, second to Toronto’s 28.8% success rate.
The game was also the Lightning debut of 23-year-old forward Brandon Hagel, who was acquired in a trade with the Blackhawks on Friday, arrived in Tampa around noon on Saturday, and played on the wing alongside Ross Colton and Mathieu Joseph on the Lightning’s third line.
