Rangers at Lightning
The New York Rangers go after their 10th straight victory and a touch of revenge against the team that eliminated them in the playoffs last season when they visit the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday. The Rangers have outscored opponents 32-13 during their run while the defending Eastern Conference champion Lightning are struggling with goal scoring and injuries.
Goalie Henrik Lundqvist is off to one of the best starts in his career (10-2-0, 1.69 goals-against average, .947 save percentage) and should be well rested after Antti Raanta beat Toronto 4-3 in the last game Sunday. Lundqvist has won six straight, allowing eight goals total, and will attempt to keep the Lightning’s sputtering offense in check. Tampa Bay, which led the league in scoring a season ago, has been held to one goal or fewer eight times in the last 12 games after a 1-0 loss at Florida on Monday despite a 39-20 edge in shots. “One thing I know about this team,” Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman told reporters. “We bounce back and rise to the occasion.”
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, MSG (New York), Sun Sports (Tampa Bay)
ABOUT THE RANGERS (14-2-2): Mats Zuccarello, who missed the playoff series against the Lightning last season because of injury, has two goals and five assists in the last four games to take over the team lead in points (18). Derick Brassard has three points (two goals) in the last three games and rookie Oscar Lindberg boasts seven goals, but veteran Rick Nash (two goals) is overdue for a hot streak. Captain Ryan McDonagh leads one of the best blue lines in the league with a plus-13 rating and fellow defenseman Keith Yandle has recorded 10 points.
ABOUT THE LIGHTNING (8-9-3): Center Tyler Johnson (10 points) and versatile forward Cedric Paquette are expected to miss Thursday’s game with upper-body injuries while wings Ryan Callahan (lower body) and Jonathan Drouin (undisclosed) could also be out. Right wing Joel Vermin was recalled from Syracuse of the American Hockey League on Wednesday after posting 10 points in 12 games, and could make his NHL debut. Captain Steven Stamkos tops the team in goals (nine) and points (14) while Hedman leads an active blue line corps with 12 points.
OVERTIME
1. Tampa Bay G Ben Bishop is 8-0-0 with a 1.49 goals-against average and .946 save percentage in his career against the Rangers in the regular season and shut them out twice in the playoffs.
2. Free-agent acquisition C Jarret Stoll has won 58.3 percent of his faceoffs to lead the Rangers.
3. The Lightning won all three regular-season games against New York last season before taking the playoff series 4-3.