After the 2018 NHL trade deadline, New York Rangers fans were understandably thinking a lot about the Tampa Bay Lightning. So it seems almost appropriate that the first team that the Rangers (27-26-9, 63 points) will play after the 2019 NHL trade deadline is Tampa (48-11-4, 100 points). The Lightning are truly the beast of the East this season. They come into tonight’s game at the Garden with 100 points in 63 games this season. Tampa Bay is 9-0-1 in their last 10 games and have an impressive record of 22-6-2 on the road. Their offense is downright terrifying, which is likely why the Lightning felt comfortable standing pat at the deadline on Monday. The player on Tampa that the Rangers’ problematic defense will need to try to contain is Nikita Kucherov. The Russian winger has already eclipsed the 100-point mark this season. As you might expect, he leads the Lightning in scoring by a significant margin, although Brayden Point having a huge year of his own with 79 points in 61 games this season. Kucherov has 40 points and Point has 31 points on the power play this season. Enough said. Of course, tonight will also be Brendan Lemieux’s debut as a Ranger. Lemieux, 22, was acquired in the Kevin Hayes trade on Feb. 25. This will be Lemieux’s 54th career NHL game and 45th NHL game this season. Related Brendan Lemieux Scouting Report He will be in the lineup over Filip Chytil who is a scratch due to issues with effort level. Chytil to be healthy scratch v Lightning. Effort. Sounds as if he could sit a while. — Larry Brooks (@NYP_Brooksie) February 26, 2019 With all that said, here are the projected lines for both sides. New York Rangers Chris Kreider — Mika Zibanejad — Jimmy Vesey Vlad Namestnikov — Ryan Strome — Jesper Fast Brendan Lemieux — Lias Andersson — Pavel Buchnevich Connor Brickley — Boo Nieves — Brendan Smith Brady Skjei — Neal Pionk Marc Staal — Tony DeAngelo Fredrik Claesson — Kevin Shattenkirk Alexandar Georgiev Tampa Bay Lightning Ondrej Palat — Steven Stamkos — J.T. MIller Tyler Johnson — Brayden Point — Nikita Kucherov Alex Killorn — Anthony Cirelli — Yanni Gourde Adam Erne — Cedric Paquette — Ryan Callahan Victor Hedman — Dan Girardi Ryan McDonagh — Erik Cernak Mikhail Sergachev — Anton Stralman Andrei Vasilevskiy Please use this as your open thread for tonight’s game.<doc-sep>The New York Rangers faced off against the league-leading Tampa Bay Lightning this even, and despite clawing back from a two-goal deficit, they were defeated in overtime. Victor Hedman scored the game-winning goal with 1:35 remaining in overtime, and gave the Lightning their 10th straight victory. 1-0 Lightning Tyler Johnson (22) - Nikita Kucherov (72) & Anton Stralman (15) - 7:52 1st Period The Rangers looked completely lost during the first period, and that allowed the Lightning to skate circles around them in the offensive zone. Alexandar Georgiev was able to fight off a majority of the chances but Tyler Johnson finally broke the scoreless tie at the 7:52 mark. Neal Pionk was still shaking off some pain after blocking a shot as the puck slipped out to Tyler Johnson, and he fired the puck past Georgiev. 2-0 Lightning - PPG J.T. Miller (12) - Nikita Kucherov (73) & Victor Hedman (31) - 14:57 1st Period Tampa Bay continued to put the pressure on the Rangers and were able to double up their lead with about five minutes remaining. Marc Staal blocked a cannon of a shot by Nikita Kucherov, but the puck wound up deflecting back towards the net. Georgiev was playing the initial shot as if it wasn’t block, and J.T. Miller tapped home the loose puck as it slide by the crease. 2-1 Lightning Mika Zibanejad (27) - Jimmy Vesey (18) & Tony DeAngelo (19) - 0:56 2nd Period Whatever David Quinn said to the Rangers in between periods, it clearly lit a fire under the Rangers as they came out of the intermission. They looked like a completely different team compared to the first period, and the Rangers were rewarded with an early goal. Mika Zibanejad picked up his team-leading 27th goal of the season off of a beautiful pass from Jimmy Vesey. 3-1 Lightning Dan Girardi (4) - Steven Stamkos (43) & Brayden Point (44) - 2:53 2nd Period With both teams skating 4-on-4, Dan Girardi slipped in behind the Rangers defense, and tapped home his fourth goal of the season. Steven Stamkos created the entire goal by sliding down from the blue line, and chipped the puck over to Girardi on the far side of the net. 3-2 Lightning Jimmy Vesey (16) - Fredrik Claesson (4) & Kevin Shattenkirk (19) - 3:23 2nd Period Exactly 30 seconds after Girardi’s tally, the Rangers brought themselves back within a goal yet again. Jimmy Vesey absolutely embarrassed Victor Hedman in a foot race for a loose puck, and out-muscled him as he came in on Andrei Vasilevskiy. Vesey was able to quickly make a move to his forehand and wrist the puck past Vasilevskiy to make it a 3-2 game. 3-3 Tie Boo Nieves (4) - Ryan Strome (11) & Vladislav Namestnikov (15) - 14:14 2nd Period With a little under six minutes remaining in the second period, the Rangers completely erased the two-goal deficit courtesy of Boo Nieves. Ryan Strome made a great pass out from the right corner, and Nieves one-timed the puck through four players in front of Vasilevskiy. The Lightning goaltender was unable to locate the loose puck after it hit the left post, and he wound up kicking it into his own net. 4-3 Lightning - OT Victory Hedman (8) - Nikita Kucherov (74) & Steven Stamkos (44) - 3:25 OT Following a back and forth overtime period, the Lightning were finally able to secure the win at the 3:25 mark. Nikita Kucherov set a bit of a pick play as he dished off the puck, and it freed up Victor Hedman in the high slot. Hedman was able to take his time and picked the right corner of the net on Georgiev for the game-winning goal. Following tonight’s rough loss to Tampa Bay in overtime, the Rangers will have a scheduled off day tomorrow before returning to action on Friday night against the Montreal Canadiens.<doc-sep>No Mats Zuccarello. No Kevin Hayes. This is who the Rangers are for the remainder of the season after shipping away fan favorites Zuccarello and Hayes and defenseman Adam McQuaid before Monday’s NHL trade deadline. In their first night together as the Rest-Of-The-Season Rangers, the Blueshirts took on the league’s top team, the Tampa Bay Lightning, a team with 100 points through their first 63 games. The new-look Rangers gave the Lightning all they could handle, but in the end, Tampa Bay’s talent was too much and the Lightning won 4-3, in overtime, when Victor Hedman scored with 1:35 left sudden-death period. The goal came despite the Rangers dominating the bulk of the third period against the Lightning, and afterward, the Rangers bemoaned the notion that they gave Tampa Bay a little too much respect in the opening period, when they fell behind 2-0 on goals by Tyler Johnson and former Ranger J.T. Miller. “I felt, for the first time we were a little bit curious, or nervous, about how we were going to look without the guys we traded,’’ Rangers coach David Quinn said. “They looked — and listen, they’re the best team in the league, they’ve got the best record, they’re going to look good — but we made them look especially good, because we stood still… We played in awe. “And I felt like once we got that goal to start the second, our whole mentality changed,’’ he said. “It felt like, on the bench, a bubble burst, and we kind of thought, ‘OK, we’re OK.’’’ The goal in question was one by Mika Zibanejad 56 seconds into the second period, when he banged in a backhander off a centering pass by Jimmy Vesey. The Rangers picked up their play significantly after that. Brendan Lemieux, the one addition to the roster after general manager Jeff Gorton’s wheeling and dealing, made his Rangers debut at left wing on the third line, with center Lias Andersson and right wing Pavel Buchnevich. Lemieux, an agitating winger in the mold of his father, Claude Lemieux, stepped into the spot that had been previously occupied by Filip Chytil, who was a healthy scratch for the third time this season, and who, according to Quinn, is likely to be out for more than one game this time. Subscribe to Newsday’s sports newsletter Receive stories, photos and videos about your favorite New York teams plus national sports news and events. By clicking Sign up, you agree to our privacy policy. “He’s sat out two games so far this year; he’s going to sit out a few more,’’ Quinn said before the game. “Over the grand scheme of things, it’s not that big of a deal. It seems like it is now because we’re going through it right now. But when the dust settles, the season ends, and he comes back with the level of play we all anticipate him to come back with, this isn’t going to be talked about.’’ A roughing penalty against Lemieux early in the second period started a crazy sequence in which Buchnevich and Tampa Bay’s Yanni Gourde fought. The Rangers ended up killing a penalty, only until Miller was called for a slashing penalty. That made it four-on-four for 1:28, and each team scored in that sequence, with former Ranger Dan Girardi making it 3-1 Tampa Bay at 2:53 and Vesey closing the Rangers' deficit to 3-2 at 3:23. The Rangers tied the score at 3, when Boo Nieves clanged a shot off the left wing post and the puck ricocheted off Tampa Bay goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy and in at 14:14 of the second. “It would have been nice to get the two points there, but you know what, I don’t know this team very well, but I’m proud of us, of our effort tonight,’’ Lemieux said. “Our first period [was bad], but after that, we played some good hockey to get back in there, with a really good hockey team. So it was a good effort and if we get a full 60 [minutes], you never know what happens.’’<doc-sep>The Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the New York Rangers 4-3 in overtime behind three points from Nikita Kucherov and a solid performance from Andrei Vasileskiy. The Bolts started strong but failed to maintain that level of play before squeaking out the win. Ryan Callahan returned to the lineup to play on the fourth line against his former team. On defense, Braydon Coburn took his turn as a healthy scratch with Anton Stralman playing on the third pair with Mikhail Sergachev. First Period The Rangers started well in the opening minutes causing some havoc with their forecheck and keeping the puck in the offensive zone. But that didn’t last long. The Lightning got their first big chance on a breakaway for Tyler Johnson just over three minutes into the game. He didn’t convert but from that point, the Bolts controlled the period. Brayden Point got the next good look on a pass from Johnson behind the net. Alex Georgiev made the save keeping the Bolts scoreless for a few more minutes. Andrei Vasilevskiy nearly gave the Rangers the lead when he whiffed on a Neal Pionk shot but the puck fluttered wide of the net. The Lightning opened the scoring on another open look from the slot following a pass from behind the net. This time, the pass came from Nikita Kucherov. And the shot came from Tyler Johnson. The assist gave Kucherov 102 points on the season and tied him with Martin St. Louis for the second highest point total in a single season in franchise history. The goal was also Johnson’s 300th career point. Immediately after the goal, Anthony Cirelli nearly scored another after little-brothering Pavel Buchnevich all the way down the ice. Buchnevich is lucky he didn’t end up on a poster as the shot hit the post and the crossbar before bouncing away to safety. The Rangers got the first power play of the game just over halfway into the period when Mikhail Sergachev took a hooking penalty. They got their best chance early on a good look for Mika Zibanejad from the left circle. He had room short side but Vasilevskiy got over to make the save. On the same shift, Ryan McDonagh blocked a shot from former Bolt Anthony DeAngelo. The shot went off the inside of McDonagh’s knee rendering him unable to skate for the remainder of the shift. He never left the bench and played the rest of the period. The Lightning got a chance of their own shorthanded as Yanni Gourde and Victor Hedman created a two on one break. Gourde slid a slick backhand pass across the slot to Hedman but Georgiev made the save to keep the score 1-0. Tampa got their first power play with 5:30 left in the period. They didn’t take long to take advantage. Kucherov fired a shot pass to the back door for JT Miller and the former Ranger finished the easy dunk. Pionk got his stick on the pass but it wasn’t enough to keep the puck from reaching its intended target. The assist gave Kucherov 103 points and secured the second-best scoring season in Lightning history with plenty of time to pass Vinny Lecavalier’s 108. The Rangers got one more good scoring chance at the end of the period as Chris Kreider created a breakaway. But Vasilevskiy shut him down and kept the score 2-0 heading into the first intermission. After one period, the Lightning had a dominant lead in shots and expected goals. Second Period The Lightning apparently thought their great first period would be enough to win the game. That proved not to be true. The Rangers got a goal back less than a minute into the second period. Jimmy Vesey fed a backhand pass cross-ice to Zibanejad who somehow flipped it backhand past Vasilevskiy. The puck was fluttering and flopping as it flew seemingly in slow motion into the back of the net. Thirty seconds later, the Lightning got a power play following a scrum involving multiple players. Kucherov immediately created a wonderful chance in the slot for Point who hammered the puck off the crossbar and into the stratosphere. On the ensuing faceoff, JT Miller was called for a phantom slash, which I can only assume was a makeup call for the refs feeling that in retrospect, they should have evened up the penalties after the scrum. Four on four is a situation that allows the most skilled players to shine and Dan Girardi took advantage burying a pass from Steven Stamkos past Georgiev short side against his former team. The goal gave Lightning a fans a moment to think the team would get the game back under control. That moment lasted thirty seconds. Vesey again came up with a big play. This time beating Victor Hedman to get to the net where he beat Vasilevskiy. With 12 minutes left in the period, the Rangers went on the power play thanks to an interference call on Ryan McDonagh. They had lots of zone time but created few good chances. Vladislav Namestnikov hit the crossbar on a shot from the point but that was about all they got. New York went back on the power play with nine minutes left. This time on a penalty to Cedric Paquette. The Rangers kept the puck in the zone for almost the entire two minutes but were unable to score. The Lightning penalty killers were completely gassed by the time they finally got a stoppage in play. Following the penalty, the Rangers continued to dominate play. They were rewarded again when Ryan Strome set up Boo Nieves in the slot. Despite all five Lightning players being in the vicinity, none of them picked up Strome, Nieves, or the puck. Vasilevskiy nearly made the save but he kicked the puck off the post, off his pad, and into the net. The Bolts got one of their few highlights of the period when Kucherov gave Hedman a great look on a cross ice pass but Hedman couldn’t finish the chance.<doc-sep>
Tampa Bay Lightning at New York Rangers: GAME 64 Time: 7:30 pm Eastern Time Location: Amalie Arena Broadcast/Streaming: NBCSN Opponent SBNation Site: Blueshirt Banter Matchup Tampa Bay Lightning (48-11-4, 100 points) Goals For (Per Game): 242 (3.84) Goals Against (Per Game): 165 (2.61) S/60: 32.4 SA/60: 32.0 PP%: 29.67% (1st) PK%: 85.71% (1st) CF%: 51.76% (8th) New York Rangers (27-26-9, 63 points) Goals For (Per Game): 177 (2.85) Goals Against (Per Game): 205 (3.30) S/60: 29.0 SA/60: 33.2 PP%: 21.59% (13th) PK%: 77.39% (26th) CF%: 46.25% (30th) All statistics from Hockey Reference and Natural Stat Trick. Preview: It’s been just over three weeks since the last time the Tampa Bay Lightning played the New York Rangers, but this is nowhere close to the same Rangers team. For one, the team dealt nearly all of their available players to contending teams (shockingly, none to the Bolts). For another, in the eleven games since their last meeting, the Rangers haven’t had consecutive wins. Rangers head coach David Quinn spoke yesterday on a couple of lineup decisions regarding tonight’s game: Updates from #NYR Coach Quinn: -Lemieux will play tomorrow vs. TBL on a line with Lias and Buch -Georgie gets the start in net -Chytil will be out of the lineup — New York Rangers (@NYRangers) February 26, 2019 Lemieux, who was acquired in the trade for Kevin Hayes, will actually take Chytil’s spot in the lineup. As for Chytil, it appears he may be looking at an extended stint in the press box. Other than that swap, the lineup should be similar to the one New York iced on Sunday. Meanwhile, the Lightning hit 100 points on Monday with their shootout win over the Kings. A mostly strong effort was derailed by the team blowing a 2-0 lead in a shaky third period. But the victory marked their ninth straight — and they’ll try to make it a tenth tonight. Nothing seems to have changed on the Lightning front, aside from their usual blueline rotation. They may be 13 points up on the second team in the league (17 up on the next team in the East), but they can’t afford to get complacent and sloppy. They were able to escape with a win against LA, but that won’t work against better teams. They’re playing a very similar team (in standings situation) tonight in the Rangers. This is a chance for the Lightning to put together a more complete game against a weak opponent and show that Monday night was a one-off lapse. Barring a standout performance by Henrik Lundqvist, this is a game the Lightning should win. And they should feel some pressure to do so because this is the first night of a road back-to-back. They have a tough game in Boston on Thursday and if they falter against the Rangers, could easily find themselves in a position to lose two games in a row. Tampa Bay Lightning Forwards Ondrej Palat- Steven Stamkos - J.T. Miller Tyler Johnson - Brayden Point - Nikita Kucherov Alex Killorn - Anthony Cirelli - Yanni Gourde Adam Erne - Cedric Paquette - Ryan Callahan Scratched: Mathieu Joseph, Danick Martel Defense Victor Hedman - Dan Girardi Ryan McDonagh - Erik Cernak Mikhail Sergachev - Anton Stralman Scratched: Braydon Coburn Goalies Andrei Vasilevskiy Louis Domingue New York Rangers Forwards Chris Kreider - Mika Zibanejad - Jimmy Vesey Vladislav Namestnikov - Ryan Strome - Jesper Fast Brendan Lemieux - Lias Andersson - Pavel Buchnevich Connor Brickley - Boo Nieves - Brendan Smith Injured: Brett Howden Scratched: Filip Chytil Defense Brady Skjei - Neal Pionk Marc Staal - Anthony DeAngelo Frederik Claesson - Kevin Shattenkirk Goalies Alexandar Georgiev Henrik Lundqvist