Rangers offense roars to life again with seven goals in rout of Lightning

TAMPA — It was as if the Rangers’ game to start the season was inverted Wednesday night. 

The Rangers couldn’t buy a single goal on several occasions through the first month of the season, but in Wednesday night’s 7-3 victory over the Lightning, it felt like every puck that rolled off their sticks found the back of the net. 

A season-high seven of 21 shots to be exact, and it was enough to get star Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy pulled before the end of the third period. 

Defense was sacrificed at times. It was sloppier than either team probably would’ve liked. 

For the Blueshirts, however, 13 goals over the last two games is a welcome development. 

Posting a season-high goal tally against an always-competitive Lightning team carries some weight. 

The Rangers emerged from an eventful first period with a one-goal lead. 

Scoring on all of their first three shots, the visitors were the ones setting the tone early. Tampa Bay, however, managed to keep pace and nearly went goal-for-goal with the Blueshirts through the opening 20 minutes. 

Will Cuylle, who later added an empty-netter, scored his second power-play goal in four games since getting promoted to the top man-advantage unit. Whacking in Adam Fox’s misfired shot off the end boards, Cuylle gave the Rangers the lead just over a minute into the game. 

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Just over two minutes later, Mika Zibanejad intercepted the puck, faked the shot on the rush and dished to J.T. Miller in transition. The puck bounced off Erik Cernak’s skate before kissing Miller’s and sliding past Vasilevskiy. 

Scott Sabourin answered for the Lightning, but it didn’t take long for the Rangers to find the back of the net again. 

After leveling Brandon Hagel in the Rangers zone, Carson Soucy broke the puck out for an odd-man rush. Artemi Panarin then sent a cross-ice pass to Alexis Lafrenière, who buried his third goal in four games for the 3-1 lead. 

Zemgus Girgensons brought the Lightning within one again, but the offense continued to pour out of the Rangers. Will Borgen’s first goal of the season regained the two-goal lead for the Rangers before Jake Guentzel’s shorthanded score cut it back to one going into the first intermission. 

Tampa Bay controlled the puck for a majority of the second period, over which the home team more than doubled the Rangers’ shots on goal (12-5). And yet, the Rangers were the only team to score in the middle frame. 

Vincent Trocheck, who has drastically changed the look of the Rangers’ top six since returning from long-term injured reserve, added one in the second and another in the third. 

After burying a Panarin feed off the rush to give his team a 5-3 lead going into the final frame, Trocheck wristed one home from the high slot to widen the gap to three goals just over five minutes into the third. 

That counted as Panarin’s ninth point in the last four games since shaving his head again. 

Who would’ve thought that an appearance change would have so much impact on a hockey team?