Raanta, Zibanejad help Rangers jolt Lightning
TAMPA, Fla. -- While the New York Rangers wanted to see their battle level pick up, the Tampa Bay Lightning continue to battle for a playoff spot and rise up the Eastern Conference standings.
In a playoff-intense matchup, however, goaltenders Antti Raanta and Andrei Vasilevskiy proved to be right at the forefront.
Mika Zibanejad scored on a breakaway 3:56 into overtime to give the Rangers their second victory in six games with a 1-0 win on Monday.
Raanta made 38 saves for his 13th victory of the season.
Vasilevskiy finished with 33 saves as his three-game winning streak was snapped. Tampa Bay, meanwhile, improved to 8-2-3 in the past 13 games and moved within two points of the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with 16 games remaining.
In a game that started as if it was a replay of the 2015 Eastern Conference finals, post-whistle scrums and intense play seemingly happened on every other shift. That was accented by a lengthy neutral-zone bout between Luke Witkowski and Tanner Glass, who was playing his first NHL game in nearly a year.
But it was the play of both goaltenders that really set the tone.
Vasilevskiy, who assumed the No. 1 goaltending duties following the trade of Ben Bishop, stopped all 12 shots he faced in the opening period. But Raanta, getting the start in place of Henrik Lundqvist, was equally as strong at the other end, helping withstand the Lightning attack that buzzed at times.
The second period saw the Lightning get a bulk of the play in the first half of the session, spending extended stretches of time in the Rangers' zone. But a parade of penalties -- a combined five were called in a span of four-plus minutes -- disrupted any flow the Lightning had started to gain. Raanta stopped all 16 shots he faced in the period.
The Rangers started to gain control in the later stages of the period, but the goaltending remained in control as Vasilevskiy stopped the 12 shots he faced in the period.
Vasilevskiy was at his best in the third period, coming up with his biggest save with 58 seconds left, stopping Rick Nash who avoided a hip check along the boards and skated in to the post area.
NOTES: Tampa Bay scratched C Greg McKegg and RW J.T. Brown. ... Lightning D Luke Witkowski took shifts at forward on the fourth line for the second consecutive game. ... New York C Derek Stepan appeared in his 500th career game. ... Rangers LW Tanner Glass, who was recalled from Hartford in the American Hockey League appeared in his first NHL regular game since April 9, 2016. ... New York leading goal scorer Michael Grabner missed his third consecutive game with a hip injury but hopes to be ready to return Thursday at Carolina. ... Lightning LW Yanni Gourde was called up Monday morning and in in the lineup for Tampa Bay. ... Tampa Bay RW Nikita Kucherov was named the NHL's No. 1 star of the week on Monday. ... New York scratched D Kevin Klein (back), LW Matt Puempel and D Adam Clendening.