RECAP: Tampa Bay Lightning Fall To New York Rangers 5-1
After winning the first three games of their 6-game homestand, the Lightning have dropped the past two. They'll turn the page quickly to face Montreal on Sunday night in Tampa.
Two third period goals by the New York Rangers tilted the game in their favor last night, leaving the Lightning with no option but to chase.
It’s been an up and down season so far. After losing multiple veteran players over the past few years due to salary cap constraints, the Lightning have been trying to find consistency and success with their new roster. There’s still a ton of hockey left to play, but now that the season is approaching the halfway mark, we have a better idea as to where they currently are as a group.
Last night, the Lightning worked hard to maintain possession and they generated scoring chances for the duration of the game. Igor Shesterkin stopped all but one. Two of the Rangers' first three goals were a result of odd-man rushes, one off a turnover in the offensive zone and the other from a gap in coverage that allowed Blake Wheeler to get a pass through to Vincent Trocheck and Chris Kreider.
Nikita Kucherov scored on the power-play after taking a huge hit in the previous shift. Then Chris Kreider’s goal 51 seconds later, pulled the momentum away from the Lightning.
“That’s something you talk about when you’re in minor hockey, the shift after a goal is a big one right?” said Lightning captain Steven Stamkos
“It was a play where we were a little in between and stuff like that happens, mistakes happen.”
The Lightning continued pushing to start the third period, building up a shot count. Panarin was forced wide by Hedman and flung one past Vasilevskiy, solidifying the win for the Rangers.
The current six-game stretch has been circled on the calendar as an opportunity for the Lightning to grab points heading into the new year.
“We can't go 3-3 on this little stretch here,” said Lightning coach Jon Cooper. “If we happen to win tomorrow and it is 4-2 hey, we'll take that. We cannot come out of this 3-3 heading on the road against Winnipeg who is one of the best teams in the west, and Minnesota who does not seem to lose much anymore, and then Boston. We’ve got to take some points here to give us a little momentum going on the road"