Garand Backstops Rangers Past Lightning
Lafrenière nets two and Zibanejad adds one as New York turns chance quality into a home win.
The box score says finish; the tape says New York won this by making their looks count and getting the better end in net. Expected goals favored the Rangers 2.92 to 2.35, a quality edge they cashed through Alexis Lafrenière’s two strikes and Mika Zibanejad’s clean finish, with help down the lineup from Will Cuylle and two setups by Tye Kartye.
Tampa Bay had the shot-attempt edge at five-on-five, but New York steered the better chances and their goalie made sure that mattered. Dylan Garand stopped 25 of 26 with a goals saved above expected of +1.35, while Andrei Vasilevskiy turned aside 19 of 22 with a -0.57 on the same measure — the goalie gap that sealed it when the game tilted toward dangerous looks. No iron either: zero posts or crossbars on the night.
Implications tonight: for NYR, quality over volume with steady goaltending traveled; for TBL, an attempt edge without sharper looks — and a few fewer saves — wasn’t enough in this matchup.
