NEW YORK (AP) Coming off an emotional loss that knocked them
out of first
place
Youth
Pavel Zacha Jersey , the Tampa Bay Lightning took a little while to get
going against the New York Rangers.They eventually found their stride.Brayden
Point and Cedric Paquette each scored two goals, and Tampa Bay stopped a
three-game slide with a 7-3 victory Friday night.J.T. Miller contributed a
power-play goal in the third period as the Lightning regained first place in the
Atlantic Division and the Eastern Conference with 108 points. Dan Girardi also
scored against his former team, Alex Killorn had a goal and an assist, and
backup goalie Louis Domingue made 28 saves.¡±We got better as the game went
along,¡± star forward Steven Stamkos said. ¡±We wanted to get the two points and
we got it and we¡¯ll continue to move on.¡±The Lightning fell from the top spot
for the first time since mid-October when they lost to the Bruins on Thursday
night. They scored a total of four goals during their losing streak.¡±It was a
tough first for us, just to get our legs back, but I like the way we responded
in the second and third and the guys did what they had to do,¡± coach Jon Cooper
said.Leading 2-1 entering the third period, Miller, Paquette and Point scored in
the first 2:38 to blow the game open.Miller jammed in a rebound of Victor
Hedman¡¯s shot from the point 35 seconds into the period. Hedman finished with
two assists.¡±It felt nice,¡± Miller said of scoring against his former team. ¡±It
was hard with a lot of emotions and thoughts coming into this game. You just
want to go out and play your game and luckily, got one to come on my stick in
front of the net.¡±Paquette added his second of the game when he took a pass from
Cory Conacher and sent his shot off the post and into the net. Point finished
the run 45 seconds later when he scored his 29th of the season on a 3-on-1
break.Point added his second of the game on an empty-netter, and Girardi scored
a power-play goal in the final minute.New York rookie Filip Chytil got his first
NHL goal. Chris Kreider and Brady Skjei also scored for the Rangers, and Ondrej
Pavelec made 43 saves.Tampa Bay¡¯s only visit to Madison Square Garden this
season came in the Rangers¡¯ home finale.Before the game, the Rangers played a
video tribute honoring Ryan McDonagh, Girardi and Miller.
McDonagh
Authentic
Taylor Hall Jersey , a former captain, spent parts of eight seasons with
the Rangers before being traded at the February deadline with Miller. Girardi
played nearly 800 games with the Rangers over parts of 11 years.¡±A month ago, I
didn¡¯t expect to have to play this game,¡± Miller said. ¡±You try to keep it
together during the game as much as possible.¡±A lot of good friends there on the
other side so you try to keep it serious and professional during the game. It
was a cool experience what they did for me here.¡±The Rangers opened the scoring
in the first period when defenseman Skjei wristed a shot from the top of the
right circle past Domingue at 14:59 for his fourth of the season.Paquette tied
it for the Lightning early in the second. Mikhail Sergachev took a shot from the
point and Paquette poked in the loose puck for his fourth goal at 3:15.Just 1:18
later, Killorn gave the Lightning a 2-1 lead with his 15th goal. Anthony Cirelli
sent a pass to Killorn in the slot. Killorn sent it on net and knocked in his
own rebound.Domingue preserved the lead when he made a sliding pad save on
Kreider on a Rangers power play midway through the period.Chytil scored when he
knocked in Mats Zuccarello¡¯s shot that banked off the end boards at 8:14 of the
third.¡±Zukey shoots and it was a rebound and empty net, so I¡¯m excited I scored
my first goal finally,¡± Chytil said.Stamkos and Rangers forward Pavel Buchnevich
had an unexpected fight after the first period after Buchnevich tripped Nikita
Kucherov. Buchnevich got a minor for tripping and a fighting major. Stamkos got
an instigating minor, fighting major and a 10-minute misconduct.¡±Stuff happens
in the game and I thought Kuch got clipped and just responding,¡± Stamkos
said.NOTES: Goalie Henrik Lundqvist won the 30th annual Steven McDonald Extra
Effort Award. The award is presented to the Ranger who ¡±goes above and beyond
the call of duty¡± as chosen by fans. The award, given annually since the 1987-88
season, is named after New York City Police Detective Steven McDonald, who was
shot and injured in the line of duty on July 12, 1986, and died on Jan. 10,
2017. ¡ The Rangers finished 21-16-4 at home this season.UP NEXTLightning: Host
Nashville on Sunday.Rangers: Travel to Carolina to face the Hurricanes on
Saturday night.¡ª The Florida Panthers were supposed to be serious playoff
contenders this season, and the New York
Islanders
Womens
Will Butcher Jersey , well, weren¡¯t.But through roughly the first-eighth
of this season, the opposite seemed true.The Islanders, who visit the Panthers
on Saturday night at the BB&T Center, entered the weekend atop the
Metropolitan Division with 18 points and an 8-5-2 record.Article continues below
...New York hasn¡¯t seemed bothered by what many hockey writers predicted would
be a catastrophe for the franchise ¡ª superstar center John Tavares¡¯ decision to
bolt to the Toronto Maple Leafs as a free agent.¡°We know we can play with
anyone,¡± Islanders center Mathew Barzal said of his team sans Tavares. ¡°We know
we can beat anyone.¡±Meanwhile, the Panthers, who finished just one point short
of the playoffs last season and then traded for winger Mike Hoffman ¡ª who has
averaged better than 25 goals in each of the past four seasons ¡ª entered the
weekend tied for last in the NHL with 11 points.But it appears Florida¡¯s
fortunes are changing. Goalie Roberto Luongo, a sure-fire Hall of Famer, injured
his right knee in the season opener. Ever since he got back, the Panthers are
undefeated at 2-0-0.¡°It¡¯s good to get on a roll,¡± said Luongo, who has a stellar
1.19 goals-against average and a .959 save percentage in three games this
season. ¡°We¡¯ve got to keep pushing hard.¡±Assuming Luongo gets the start
Saturday, he will be facing an Islanders team that has lost two straight games,
allowing eight goals during that span.Winger Evgenii Dadonov leads the Panthers
this season in goals (seven) and points (14). Hoffman is tied for third on the
team with 11 points, and he also has a career-best 10-game points streak.In 25
years of Panthers
history
http://www.officialislanders.com/authentic-adidas-adam-pelec h-jersey ,
only three other players have had points streaks of that duration ¨C Pavel Bure,
Olli Jokinen and Jussi Jokinen.¡°I guess it¡¯s good,¡± Hoffman modestly said of his
streak. ¡°You¡¯ve got to get a couple of lucky breaks to have a streak like that,
but I¡¯m just trying to help the team win as many games as possible.¡±Hoffman
leads Florida in power-play goals (three) and power-play shots (43). He has led
a Panthers power play that has recovered since starting the season with no goals
in 13 tries.In their last five games, Florida has gone 7 of 23 on its power
play.As for the Islanders, they are led in scoring in points by Josh Bailey (17)
and in goals by Brock Nelson (seven).In goal, the Islanders have Thomas Greiss
and Robin Lehner. Greiss is 4-2-1 with a 1.98 GAA and .940 save percentage.
Lehner is 4-3-1 with a 2.53 GAA and a .924 save percentage.One issue for the
Islanders is that left winger Matt Martin, who has three goals in 11 games this
season, has an upper-body injury. If he can¡¯t play against the Panthers, that
would be the fourth straight game he has missed.Florida is relatively healthy,
especially now that Luongo is back. Most of the Panthers¡¯ current injuries are
to players who are bottom-six forwards or Mark Pysyk, who is one of their
bottom-three defensemen. In other words, Florida¡¯s injuries are manageable now
that Luongo has returned.