Chytil scores winner in season debut for Rangers against Lightning

NEW YORK --Filip Chytil scored in his first game of the season and Adam Fox scored his first NHL goal as part of four unanswered goals from the New York Rangers in a 4-1 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday.

Chytil, who played 75 games as a rookie with the Rangers last season, was called up from Hartford of the American Hockey League on Monday to replace Mika Zibanejad in the lineup. Zibanejad missed the game and is day to day with an upper-body injury.
"I just needed to find my game," said Chytil, who had nine points (three goals, six assists) with Hartford. "Finally, I'm here and I can play here."
WATCH: [All Lightning vs. Rangers highlights]
Kaapo Kakko scored his second goal of the season, his first on the power play, Ryan Strome had a goal and an assist, and Alexandar Georgiev made 29 saves for the Rangers (4-5-1).
Andrei Vasilevskiy made 38 saves and Nikita Kucherov scored for the Lightning (5-4-2), who played the final two periods without defenseman Victor Hedman and forward Patrick Maroon.
Hedman was ruled out with a lower-body injury and coach Jon Cooper said he wasn't sure if he would be able to play at the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday. Maroon sustained an upper-body injury in a fight with Micheal Haley at 1:56 of the first period and didn't play again.

The Lightning were already playing without center Anthony Cirelli, who missed the game with an upper-body injury.
"It hurt us in the end," Cooper said. "When you lose two guys early it just disrupts a lot of things. We were, I thought, in control of the game in the first and a lot of the second, and I think our legs got a little weary in the end."
Cooper said there's a good chance the Lightning will have to recall players from Syracuse of the AHL prior to playing the Devils.
"I'm not upset with our game," Cooper said. "It was just tough the way it unfolded a little bit tonight. We have better in us, but we were battling. We lost a few battles we normally win in the 'D' zone. Maybe we weren't as aggressive as we've normally been, but the guys gamed it out. It's just we were short."

Chytil split the Lightning defense and scored on a deflection of Pavel Buchnevich's pass to give the Rangers a 2-1 lead with 7:14 remaining in the third period.
"That's always nice when you score a goal here in this arena," Chytil said. "I was excited before the game that I'm back here, that I get to play in front of this crowd, in front of the people from New York. It's nice to be back, nice to be back with a win and we have to keep going."
Fox made it 3-1 with a goal off a rebound of Chris Kreider's shot with 2:36 remaining.
Ryan Lindgren, who was also recalled from Hartford on Monday, had an assist on Fox's goal, his first NHL point in his sixth game.

Strome scored into an empty net at 19:14 for the 4-1 final.
"We embraced the battle instead of avoiding it," Rangers coach David Quinn said. "Once that happens you start rolling, you've got a chance. I thought we did it for 60 minutes."
Kucherov gave the Lightning a 1-0 lead at 15:44 of the first period.
Kakko tied it 1-1 at 9:37 of the second period when his shot from the right circle went off Vasilevskiy's right pad and pinballed into the net off the back of Lightning defenseman Braydon Coburn's left skate.

They said it

"Our group is lacking some confidence. You only get that by winning games and making the plays out there, feeling comfortable. We have to start with little things, take the little positives we can. … We've got to find a way to get some confidence within our structure. I think we're being a little tentative at times." -- Lightning defenseman Ryan McDonagh
"A whole different Fil [Chytil]. We saw flashes of it last year, but the guy turned 20 this past September. His battle level was so much higher. He was on the right side of the play. There wasn't much cheating in his game, if at all. … I thought probably he had his best NHL game."-- Rangers coach David Quinn

Need to know

The Rangers had seven players 21 years old or younger in the lineup, including Kakko (18), Chytil (20) and Fox (21). It was the third time in team history and first since Dec. 16, 1976, that they used seven players 21 or younger in the same game. … Lindgren replaced Marc Staal, who was a healthy scratch because of a coach's decision for the first time in his 13-year career with the Rangers. … Former Rangers and Lightning defenseman
Dan Girardi
dropped the puck in a pregame ceremonial face-off between Kreider and Lightning captain Steven Stamkos.

What's next

Lightning:At the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday (7 p.m. ET; MSG+, SUN, NHL.TV)
Rangers: At the Nashville Predators on Saturday (2 p.m. ET; FS-TN, MSG, NHL.TV)