New York Rangers vs. Tampa Bay Lightning Season Opener Game Recap

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjGVNnAv3Hg

The New York Rangers hosted the Tampa Bay Lightning for the NHL season opener on October 11th. The Rangers started the season off on a good note, winning game one on home ice.

Team History

The Rangers and the Bolts have brought an interesting game history with decades worth of game statistics that show the teams consistently being neck and neck. The Rangers win percentage against the Lightning have ranged from 42.5% to 55.6%.

The Rangers held a 54.5% as of the start of the 2022-23 NHL pre-season.

Most recently, the Tampa Bay Lightning won the Eastern Conference Final against the Rangers during game six with a score of 2-1.

Game Play

The Rangers won 3-1, with center Mika Zibanejad scoring two of the three goals for the team. The additional score was made by center Barclay Goodrow.

Play started out slow with no goals made during the first period. The teams were tied 1-1 at the end of the second, with Zibanejad making a short-handed goal and giving the Rangers the lead in the third period.

The one and only Tampa Bay Lightning goal was made by the team’s captain, Steven Stamkos, during a powerplay for the Bolts.

In total, the Rangers goalie, Igor Shesterkin, blocked 26 shots on goal while the Lightning goalie, Andrei Vasilevskiy had 36 saves.

Penalties

Throughout the game, the Lightning earned a total of four penalties, one in the first period, two in the second, and one in the third. In comparison, the Rangers earned a sum of six penalties with none in the first period, three in the second, and three in the third.

There were no major penalties given, only minor penalties.

Out of Play

The Bolts entered the game without three of their players. Defenseman Zach Bogosian and center Anthony Cirelli both were out in order to recover from recent surgeries while defenseman Ian Cole was due to suspension.

The Rangers started the game with a full roster. However, right wing Vitali Kravtsov went to the dressing room after being knocked down by Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman during the first period. It was announced during the second period that he would not be returning to the game.

Following the game, Rangers coach Gerard Gallant made the announcement that Kravtsov’s time out of play would be day to day as the severity of the injury became more clear.

Looking Forward

The Tampa Bay Lightning are scheduled to host the New York Rangers at Amalie Arena on December 29th, 2022. It will be the Rangers final game of 2022.

Game statistics courtesy of ESPN (https://www.espn.com/nhl/game/_/gameId/401458593 and https://www.espn.com/nhl/recap/_/gameId/401458593)

Team History Courtesy of MCubed.Net (http://mcubed.net/nhl/nry/tb.shtml).

Media courtesy of nhl.com and msg.com.