@jayRecher
Mika Zibanejad scored a power play goal with just 16 seconds left as the visiting New York Rangers defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-1 on Saturday night at Amalie Arena.
Zibanejad's goal came with just one second left on the man-advantage after Erik Cernak was whistled for high sticking Chris Kreider with 2:15 left to play. New York's star center one-timed a pass from Artemi Panarin that just squeezed past Lightning netminder Andrei Vasilevskiy to give the visitors the lead.
It was a spirited game between two of the top teams in the Eastern Conference and two of the best goalies on the planet.
Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin made 28 saves on the evening. Vasilevskiy made 25.
Up until the last goal, Tampa Bay did a masterful job on the penalty kill, killing off five power play opportunities for New York. But the sixth, proved to be the difference maker.
Brayden Point put the Lightning ahead with a power play goal at 16:41 of the 1st. Following an absolute howitzer from Victor Hedman at the point, Brayden found the loose puck underneath Shesterkin and jammed it home to give Tampa Bay a 1-0 lead.
An incredible amount of back and forth action between the two teams until the Rangers found the equalizer at 9:25 of the 2nd on a similar play.
Vasilevskiy had trouble corralling a point shot by New York's Alexis LaFreniere and Jacob Trouba pounced on the rebound to tie it 1-1.
Things got a little chippy later on in the period when Pat Maroon collided with Shesterkin behind the net and Rangers defenseman Ryan Lindgren and Maroon mixed it up a bit. Lindgren & the Big Rig were both assessed roughing minors with Maroon getting the extra two for goalie interference.
In the 3rd period, Maroon & New York's Ryan Reaves dropped the gloves but the bout didn't really match the anticipation, with neither guy landing a clean shot on the other.
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SCORING SUMMARY
1st Period
- Tampa Bay - PPG - Point - (Hedman, Stamkos) - 16:41
2nd Period
- New York - Trouba - (LaFreniere, Chytil) - 9:25
3rd Period
- New York - PPG - Zibanejad - (Panarin, Fox) -
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PENALTY SUMMARY
1st Period
- Tampa Bay - Hedman - (Delay of Game) - 5:50
- New York - Nemeth - (Tripping) - 15:40
2nd Period
- Tampa Bay - Colton - (Hooking) - 2:07
- New York - Fox - (Hooking) - 2:56
- New York - Schneider - (Interference) - 5:48
- Tampa Bay - TEAM - (Delay of Game) - 9:25
- New York - Lindgren - (Roughing) - 13:17
- Tampa Bay - Maroon - (Roughing) - 13:17
- Tampa Bay - Maroon - (Goalie Interference) - 13:17
- Tampa Bay - Killorn - (Hooking) - 19:01
3rd Period
- New York - MAJOR - Reaves - (Fighting) - 4:02
- Tampa Bay - MAJOR - Maroon - (Fighting) - 4:02
- Tampa Bay - Cernak - (High Sticking) - 17:45
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What's Next For The Bolts : The Lightning are back in action on Tuesday night as they travel to Carolina to take on the Hurricanes. Puck drop is slated for 7:00pm with the pregame show starting at 6:30pm on NewsRadio WFLA & Lightning PowerPlay.