NHL Game Summary – NY Rangers at Tampa Bay

Tampa, FL (Sports Network) - Markus Naslund scored the game-winner in the shootout as the New York Rangers clipped Tampa Bay, 3-2, at St. Pete Times Forum.

On the Rangers' first chance, Naslund beat Bolts netminder Mike Smith with a backhander through the five-hole. Henrik Lundqvist stopped Tampa Bay's Jussi Jokinen and Nikolai Zherdev clinched the win with a wrister through the pads.

Naslund tallied twice in regulation for the Rangers, who have won two in a row and five of seven. Lundqvist made 27 stops for the victory.

"We talked about trying to get some momentum going here and put a string of wins together," Naslund said. "We know this is a tough building to play in and this is a desperate team so we had to work hard."

Ryan Malone and Mark Recchi lit the lamp for the Lightning, who have lost two straight and seven of eight. Smith was solid in defeat, making 33 saves.

Naslund picked up the first goal of the contest at the 2:40 mark of the second period, when he outwaited a diving Smith at the right edge of the crease and tucked the puck inside the post.

Malone knotted the game on the power play at 4:09, with a backhander from an odd angle along the goal line.

Naslund got his second of the game, with New York on a power play, with 2:03 left in the middle stanza. Michal Rozsival passed to Zherdev, who unloaded from the point, and Naslund got his blade on the shot to redirect it past Smith.

Though failing to convert on a late-game power play, Tampa nonetheless tied the game with under 50 seconds left in regulation.

Defenseman Andrej Meszaros let go a wrister along the ice from the right point and the puck deflected off several players in the slot before slipping through Lundqvist. Recchi was credited with the score as he was the last Lightning player to touch the puck.

Early in overtime, Lundqvist fended off a partial breakaway by Martin St. Louis, then Smith countered by stopping Chris Drury.

"It's disappointing not to get two points, but it's not lack of effort," noted St. Louis. "If we play like that and battle I like our chances of coming out on top."

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