Through six games, the Lightning have had two subpar outings. This one–like the first–came against the New York Rangers.
Simply put, the Lightning were outplayed in this contest. The Rangers spent most of the night skating on their toes, and the Lightning didn’t. New York executed at a higher level both with and without the puck.
It only took 62 seconds for the Rangers to get on the board. Following a New York dump-in from the neutral zone, Tye Kartye raced to retrieve the puck behind the Lightning net. An initial centering pass to Alexis Lafrenière was blocked, but the puck bounced back to Kartye. With the Lightning scrambling to recover, Lafrenière moved into the low slot and got open. This time, Kartye fed him the puck, and Lafrenière one-timed it in to give the Rangers the lead.
At 12:47, Kartye and Lafrenière teamed up again. From the Rangers defensive zone, Kartye lofted a backhand out to center ice. Lafrenière reached it first and converted on the ensuring breakaway, putting a shot into the top of the net.
The Lightning got one back when Pontus Holmberg chipped a puck off the boards from the defensive zone, creating a two-on-one rush chance for Zemgus Girgensons and Ilya Mikheyev. Girgensons roofed a shot from the right circle over the glove of Dylan Garand at 17:26.
The Lightning carried play over the final couple of minutes of the first period but couldn’t tie the game. That stretch would prove to be their best segment of the night.
The second period was scoreless until the Rangers amped up their forechecking intensity in the closing minutes. They pressured the Lightning into defensive-zone turnovers, which helped them extend offensive-zone shifts. One of those sequences led to Will Cuylle’s deflection goal at 18:26.
The Rangers clamped things down in the third. The Lightning struggled to create scoring chances—or even possession time. Two power-play chances yielded little, and on the second, they allowed a shorthanded empty-net goal to Mika Zibanejad. Overall, the Lightning managed to post only 14 third-period shot attempts.
The Lightning rebounded well after their earlier loss in New York. They’ll try to do it again when they host Seattle on Thursday.
Lightning Radio Three Stars of the Game:
- Alexis Lafrenière — Rangers. Two goals.
- J.T. Miller — Rangers. Assist. 16-4 on faceoffs.
- Tye Kartye — Rangers. Two assists.
