Filip Chytil and Adam Fox scored within a five-minute span late in the third period Tuesday night as the host New York Rangers earned a much-needed 4-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Kaapo Kakko scored on the power play in the second period and Ryan Strome added an empty-netter with 45.2 seconds left in the third for the Rangers, who won for just the second time in their last eight games (2-5-1). Goalie Alexandar Georgiev made 29 saves.
Nikita Kucherov scored in the first for the Lightning, who have lost two straight and three of four (1-2-1). Goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy recorded 38 saves.
A turnover by the Lightning led to Chytil's go-ahead goal. Pavel Buchnevich picked up the loose puck and raced up the ice on a semi-breakaway. His pass ahead to a streaking Chytil tipped off Chytil's stick and past Vasilevskiy with 7:14 left.
The Rangers took advantage of a near-miss by the Lightning to score their insurance goal. Tampa Bay defenseman Mikhail Sergachev's slap shot bounced off the right post and across the ice, where it was picked up by Ryan Lindgren to begin an end-to-end rush that ended when Fox scored his first NHL goal by putting back the rebound of a shot by Chris Kreider.
A badly timed Rangers shift change led to the Lightning taking the lead late in the first period. As the shift took place, Brayden Point corralled a loose puck in the neutral zone and raced up the side of the ice across from the benches. New York defenseman Brady Skjei, one of the players who entered the ice during the shift, chased after Point but lost his stick trying to poke the puck free. As Point neared the net, he passed to Kucherov, who poked the puck past the legs of a sprawling Georgiev with 4:16 left in the period.
A slashing penalty on Ondrej Palat generated the power play in which Kakko received credit for scoring the tying goal shortly before the midway point of the second. Kakko's shot bounced off Vasilevskiy's pads, but the puck trickled away, ticked off the skate of Rangers defenseman Braydon Coburn and trickled into the net at the 9:37 mark.
--Field Level Media
Tampa Bay | NY Rangers | |
Nikita Kucherov 1 | Points | Ryan Strome 2 |
Nikita Kucherov 1 | Goals | Ryan Strome 1 |
Brayden Point 1 | Assists | Ryan Strome 1 |
N/A | Power Play Goals | Kaapo Kakko 1 |
N/A | Short Handed Goals | N/A |
Andrei Vasilevskiy .927 | Save Percentage | Alexandar Georgiev .967 |
Andrei Vasilevskiy 38 | Saves | Alexandar Georgiev 29 |
Team | Shots | Goals | Power Play | Penalty Kill | Penalty Mins | Face Offs Won |
Tampa Bay | 30 | 1 | 0-2 | 3-4 | 13 | 36 |
NY Rangers | 42 | 4 | 1-4 | 2-2 | 9 | 31 |