|
Printable Page
10/13 21:06 CDT Alexis Lafreniere scores twice as Rangers beat Lightning 4-1
Alexis Lafreniere scores twice as Rangers beat Lightning 4-1
By ALLAN KREDA
Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) --- Alexis Lafreniere scored twice and Dylan Garand made 25 saves
as the New York Rangers beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-1 on Tuesday night for
their fifth straight home win.
Will Cuylle and Mika Zibanejad also scored for the Rangers, who snapped Tampa
Bay's four-game winning streak. The Lightning hadn't lost since falling to the
Rangers 5-1 in New York's home opener on Oct. 1.
Lafreniere scored 62 seconds into the game, beating Lightning goaltender Andrei
Vasilevskiy from in close.
The 25-year-old Lafreniere, the first pick in the 2020 NHL draft, scored again
at 12:47 of the first, his team-leading seventh goal.
Ty Kartye assisted on both of Lafreniere's goals. Kartye also scored twice in
New York's previous game, a 6-2 home win over Vancouver.
Tampa Bay's Zemgus Girgensons narrowed the deficit to 2-1 with his first goal
of the season late in the first.
Cuylle made it 3-1 late in the second, redirecting a shot by Sean Durzi from
the point past Vasilevskiy for his third goal.
Zibanejad had an empty-netter at 17:16 of the third.
Lafreniere, who had a hat trick in a 5-2 home win over the Islanders on Oct. 6,
has goals in four straight games. His career high in goals was 28 in 2023-24.
It's just the third time the Rangers have won five straight home games to start
a season. They won six straight in 1983-84 and eight in a row to begin the
1990-91 campaign.
Garand won his second straight since starting goaltender Igor Shesterkin was
injured last Friday at Washington and declared out for the season the next day.
The 24-year-old was serenaded with chants of "Dylan, Dylan," after he made
several key saves in the third period.
Vasilevskiy made 19 saves.
Up next Rangers: At New Jersey on Thursday. Lightning: Host Seattle on Thursday. ___ See AP's full NHL coverage here
Up next Rangers: At New Jersey on Thursday. Lightning: Host Seattle on Thursday. ___ See AP's full NHL coverage here
