Rangers end last-place campaign with upset of Lightning

Tye Kartye scored the match's first two goals in a three-point showing and the visiting New York Rangers ended their season on a high note with a 4-2 win over the playoff-bound Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday night.

Finishing in last place of the Eastern Conference, the Rangers (34-39-9, 77 points) claimed the season series 2-1-0 but missed the postseason for the second straight season.

Mika Zibanejad notched a power-play goal and an assist, Gabe Perreault netted one and J.T. Miller dished out two assists. Making his third NHL start, goaltender Dylan Garand made 29 saves and moved to 2-0-1.

Alexis Lafreniere had an assist to match his career-high of 57 points set in 2023-24.

The Metropolitan Division club ended 20-19-2 on the road.

Finishing second in the Atlantic Division behind the Buffalo Sabres, Tampa Bay (50-26-6, 106 points) lost for the first time in three games and will have home-ice advantage in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs against the Montreal Canadiens.

Oliver Bjorkstrand and Corey Perry scored goals. In his second appearance this season, Brandon Halverson made 17 saves.

Chasing the Art Ross Trophy, Nikita Kucherov started four points behind Edmonton's Connor McDavid for the NHL lead in points but was held scoreless, ending with 130 (44 goals, 86 helpers).

In a battle of AHL netminders between Hartford's Garand and Syracuse's Halverson, Garand made the first big save by stopping Kucherov from eight feet away in the first minute, but the Rangers beat Halverson 4:02 into the match.

Up high near the blue line in the offensive zone, Zibanejad recorded his 44th assist with a cross-ice feed that Kartye, claimed off waivers from the Seattle Kraken in late February, shot past Halverson's glove.

Kartye tallied again in the second period after Miller dumped a puck that bounced out to the left circle, one-timing his eighth goal for a 2-0 lead at the 1:29 mark.

Perreault added a seeing-eye shot from deep that hit the net 3:20 later with Kartye notching the secondary assist.

Bjorkstrand netted the Lightning's first goal on a rebound at 11:15, but Zibanejad restored the three-goal margin by tapping in his 34th goal on the man advantage 91 seconds later.

Perry slipped one through Garand's pads in the first minute of the third for the final tally.

--Field Level Media