Lightning aim to lock up 1st-round home ice vs. Rangers
When the Tampa Bay Lightning host the New York Rangers in their regular-season finale Wednesday, they know a matchup against the Montreal Canadiens is ahead in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Whether or not the series begins in the United States or Canada remains in question.
Occupying second place in the Atlantic Division, Tampa Bay (50-25-6, 106 points) will be home for Game 1 this weekend if it defeats New York or if Montreal loses in regulation on Tuesday at Philadelphia.
The Lightning is tied in the standings with the Canadiens, with the teams awaiting their fifth all-time matchup in the playoffs. They last met in the 2021 Stanley Cup Final, in a matchup that was derived out of realigned divisions because of the pandemic.
The Lightning hold the home-ice tiebreaker over the Canadiens because of a 40-34 advantage in regulation victories.
The Rangers (33-39-9, 75 points) will finish a dreadful campaign last in the Eastern Conference and are 1-1-0 against the Lightning.
The previous matchups have been blowouts. New York won 7-3 at Tampa on Nov. 12, while the Lightning returned the favor in a 4-1 win on the road against the Rangers on Thanksgiving weekend.
Darker times were ahead for the Rangers after Black Friday.
Coach Mike Sullivan's crew fell out of the wild-card race after going 10-17-5 during a three-month stretch in December, January and a truncated February due to the Winter Olympics.
On Monday, the Rangers celebrated the career of retiring goaltender Jonathan Quick, who was starting his final game. However, they lost 3-2 as the Florida Panthers played a defensive-minded game and cashed in three times in their 16 shots and beat the 2011-12 Conn Smythe Trophy winner.
"I thought Quicky played well for us," said Sullivan, whose group all wore the goalie's No. 32 sweater in warmups. "Obviously, tonight was about a celebration for him. ... He's an inspiration to all of us, just in his example and how he carries himself. In a lot of ways, he personifies what we hope to become as a group.
"His work ethic, his attention to detail, just incredible attitude. His professionalism is second to no one's. ... We're all better that we've had the opportunity to work with him."
The Lightning's 4-3 overtime victory Monday over Detroit helped them keep pace with Montreal after they squandered a two-goal lead entering the third period.
Nikita Kucherov scored 27 seconds into overtime on his team's first possession by finishing a give-and-go created by Brayden Point, leading to a two-on-one rush that produced the victory.
Lightning coach Jon Cooper thinks Kucherov should be awarded a second Hart Trophy after winning his first for the 2018-19 season. He leads Tampa Bay in goals (44), assists (86) and points (130).
"There are some fabulous players in this league. ... He's pretty darn important to us," said Cooper after his team put itself in position to control its playoff destination this weekend. "Could you make a case for a bunch of guys? Yes. But I think it's pretty evident that Kuch has made a name for himself this year, that he should be the guy."
Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy got a toe on Alex DeBrincat's breakaway try on the first shot in overtime, keeping the match alive and leading to Kucherov's winner nine seconds later.
A strong Vezina Trophy candidate, Vasilevskiy leads the NHL in wins and owns a 39-15-4 record. The 2018-19 Vezina winner boasts a 2.31 goals-against average (second-best in the league) and a .912 save percentage (tied for third).