Rangers at Lightning
Andrei Vasilevskiy is warming up to his new role as No. 1 goaltender for the Tampa Bay Lightning, and the 22-year-old Russian is expected to go after his fourth straight victory when he faces the visiting New York Rangers on Monday. Vasilevskiy is 3-0-0 with a .951 save percentage since fellow netminder Ben Bishop was dealt to Los Angeles as the Lightning continue to keep alive their playoff hopes with an 8-2-2 surge.
“I don’t want to say, ‘Bish is gone, I’m 100 percent No. 1,’” Vasilevskiy told the Tampa Bay Times. “I’m not going to (mess) around. I will work even more and show everybody that I deserve to be here and deserve to be the starting goalie.” Vasilevskiy likely will face a frustrated, angry squad Monday as the Rangers have dropped three of four games while scoring a total of six goals. New York, which plays at Florida on Tuesday, has been outshot by 28 over the last three contests, and only a standout performance by Henrik Lundqvist at Boston on Thursday produced a victory. “We have to start building some confidence in our game,” Rangers defenseman Marc Staal told reporters. “I think everyone’s clutching a little bit and second-guessing, and we’re not doing the things that we normally know how to do very well.”
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, Sportsnet, TVA, MSG Plus (New York), FSN Sun (Tampa Bay)
ABOUT THE RANGERS (41-22-2): One of the major issues over the last few weeks has been a punchless power play that is 0-for-19 over the last eight contests and 1-for-33 during a 13-game span. New York could be without leading goal scorer Michael Grabner (26) for the third straight game due to a hip injury and needs others to step up, including leading scorer J.T. Miller (48 points). The 23-year-old has recorded just one goal in 11 games and two points in his last nine contests while Derek Stepan – who is slated to play his 500th NHL game Monday - has gone 20 without a goal and Mats Zuccarello has netted one in his last 12 matches.
ABOUT THE LIGHTNING (30-26-8): Nikita Kucherov, whose creative shootout tally gave Tampa Bay a 2-1 win at Buffalo on Saturday, is one of the hottest performers in the league with seven goals and seven assists during a six-game point streak. Kucherov leads the team with 63 points – eight more than defenseman Victor Hedman, who is riding a five-game streak and has equaled his career high of 55, which he set in 2013-14. Tyler Johnson (43 points), Kucherov's linemate, also has been effective of late, registering a pair of goals and four assists over his last four contests.
OVERTIME
1. New York is 19-14-2 at home but owns the league’s best road record at 22-8-0 and has won three straight away from Madison Square Garden.
2. Tampa Bay D Jake Dotchin continues to impress with four assists and a plus-5 rating in 17 games since being recalled for the first time.
3. The Rangers have scored a total of 14 goals while winning the last three meetings, including a 6-1 triumph Oct. 30 in New York.