Henrik Lundqvist has been a top goalie in the NHL for years. Andrei Vasilevskiy in his 1st full season of being the top guy for the Tampa Bay Lightning, but is already on his way to being considered 1 of the best in the league. Thursday night they faced off at Amalie Arena. New York struck 1st, but Yanni Gourde’s short-handed goal in the 2nd had the teams tied heading to the final period. Both goalies continued their stout play in the 3rd period to force overtime. Lundqvist would win this battle as J.T. Miller's goal just over a minute into overtime gave the New York Rangers the 2-1 victory.
The Bolts knew to expect a chippy game against the New York Rangers. That’s exactly what they got in the 1st period. Andrei Vasilevskiy had to be the best player on the ice for most of the period to just keep New York off the board. The Tampa Bay goaltender made a variety of highlight reel saves, including a beautiful glove save on a Kevin Shattenkirk breakaway. The constant pressure from New York finally payed off in the closing minutes of the period. Chris Kreider was able to get the puck to just trickle past Vasilevskiy in a 4-on-4 situation to give the Rangers the lead heading to the 2nd frame.
The physical atmosphere continued into the 2nd period. Ryan Callahan even dropped the gloves for a scrum with Steven Kampfer. Shortly after that the Bolts found themselves on the wrong end of a penalty, but Vlad Namestnikov getting sent off didn’t seem to matter. The Bolts tied the game with a short-handed goal after Yanni Gourde buried a slick pass from Victor Hedman. Tampa Bay turned on the pressure in the final minutes of the period. Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos both had chances, but Henrik Lundqvist sent them both away to keep it tied heading to the 3rd.
We entered the 3rd in a tie game with 2 of the best goalies in the league. It looked like the Bolts struck early on with a firecracker of a shot from Alex Killorn, but the referees overturned the goal because of goaltender interference. Tempers flared right after that. Kampfer was involved in his 2nd fight of the night, this time with J.T. Brown. Vasilevskiy and Lundqvist continued to make save after save to keep the game knotted up. Those goalies’ play would force overtime.
Tampa Bay will be right back on home ice on Saturday night. The Bolts will honor the Stanley Cup winning team from 03-04 before the game. The puck is scheduled to drop between the Lightning and the Columbus Blue Jackets shortly after 7 pm. Coverage begins on News Radio 970 WFLA at 6.
SCORING SUMMARY
1ST PERIOD
1. NYR - Kreider - (Zibanejad, Skjei) - 18:34
2ND PERIOD
1. TBL - SHG - Gourde - (Hedman, Point) - 11:00
3RD PERIOD
NONE
OVERTIME
1. New York - Miller - (Shattenkirk) - 1:19
PENALTY SUMMARY
1ST PERIOD
1. NYR - Shattenkirk - (Holding) - 12:49
2. NYR - Zuccarello - (Slashing) - 17:32
3. TBL - Hedman - (Roughing) - 17:32
2ND PERIOD
1. NYR - Kampfer - (Fighting) - 9:38
2. TBL - Callahan - (Fighting) - 9:38
3. TBL - Namestnikov - (Cross Checking) - 10:01
3RD PERIOD
1.NYR - Kampfer - (Fighting) - 3:01
2. TBL - Brown - (Fighting) - 3:01
3. TBL - Killorn - (Slashing) - 3:01
4. NYR - McDonagh - (Roughing) - 5:04
SHOTS ON GOAL
Tampa Bay - 28
New York - 34