TAMPA, Fla. _ However badly J.T. Miller and Ryan McDonagh felt at the moment they were informed they had been traded away from the Rangers at the NHL trade deadline, it's a pretty safe bet they both feel pretty good about where they ended up.
Miller was on the ice but McDonagh remained out with a hand injury when their new team, the Tampa Bay Lightning, beat their old one in a 5-3 win over the Rangers on Thursday night at Amalie Arena. The Lightning, sporting the best record in the league, dominated the first two periods and chased Henrik Lundqvist (he allowed four goals on 31 shots) in the second period after taking a 4-1 lead. Tampa Bay loosened its grip on the game in the third period and allowed the Rangers to generate plenty of chances and score two goals.
Miller, who went to the Lightning along with McDonagh in exchange for Vladislav Namestnikov, prospects Libor Hajek and Brett Howden and a pair of draft picks, including a first-rounder this summer, had a relatively quiet night, but his new teammates picked him up in a big way.
Cedric Paquette (his third goal of the season), Adam Erne (third), Anthony Cirelli (second), Chris Kunitz (12) and Tyler Johnson (19) scored the Tampa Bay goals. Ryan Spooner, Mats Zuccarello (his first in eight games), and Kevin Hayes scored for the Rangers. Rob O'Gara got his first NHL point with an assist on Hayes' goal.
But ultimately, the Tampa Bay defense did just enough, and goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy came up big when asked to, making 27 saves.
Afterward, Alain Vigneault said Chris Kreider took a hit to the head, passed the tests, but they kept him out for precautionary reasons. Kreider left the game in the first period.
