New York Rangers beat Tampa Bay Lightning

The New York Rangers confirmed their position as a paper favourite and scored an important victory (3:1). The basis of the success was the second period won by two goals and the fact that Kucherov didn’t allow many chances on his ice. But the star Russian made his mark in the statistics of the game.

The Rangers entered the game with number two goalie Jonathan Quick. Andrei Vasilevski was the Lightning’s goalie. The first period was marked by very cautious hockey. Both teams didn’t do much in terms of scoring as they produced only 11 shots. And went to the booths with no goals.

However, the home team struck early in the second period when Tampa Bay’s goalie was overcome by forward Jimmy Vesey, who was playing only his third game after a 10-game injury absence and scored his 11th goal of the season.

The Rangers dominated the second period 10-4 and were rewarded with their second goal of the game. It was scored at 37:46 by Jimmy Brodzinsky, a roving player between the NHL and AHL, for whom it was only his third goal this season. The assists went to experienced players Chris Kreider and Blake Wheeler.

After 40 minutes of play, the home team was in complete control of the game. And there was no indication that anything would change. However, Tampa Bay entered the third period much more active. Most importantly, they increased their scoring potential.

Hagal dramatized the game, but the Rangers won in the end

And the reward was the dramatization of the game, when in the 6th minute of the last passage of the game Brandon Hagel corrected the score and thwarted the hopes of the American goalkeeper Quick for a clean sheet. Russia’s Nikita Kucherov also had a hand in the goal , scoring his 86th point. Once again, he is one point ahead of Nathan MacKinnon and has one more game to play.

Perhaps the decisive moment of the game was the 16th minute, when the Lightning players did not take advantage of the power play offered by the Rangers, who in turn took advantage of the game without the opponent’s goalie.

At 58:59, Vesey scored his second goal of the game to seal the Rangers’ victory. The Rangers moved into second place in the Eastern Conference, four points behind Boston. On the other hand, Tampa Bay can leapfrog Detroit and Philadelphia in the next game and move up to the 8th position.

Source: NHL