Bittersweet Finish: Rangers Win Finale, Slip in Lottery Race
Another season gone in the blink of an eye, to just one of these teams at least. The Tampa Bay Lightning awaits the Montreal Canadiens in round one of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs, while the New York Rangers' disastrous season at last concludes. However, just because the Rangers aren't in the playoffs doesn't mean this game doesn't matter. While Tampa Bay had nothing to fight for tonight, New York fans hoped the Lightning could take down the Blueshirts one final time this season. With tonight's game meaningless for the Lightning, Tampa Bay went with Brandon Halverson, drafted in the 2014 NHL Draft by the Rangers, in the net tonight. Meanwhile, on the other end, Dylan Garand made his third NHL start, still looking to earn his spot as the next answer in net for the Blueshirts. Looking to improve their odds, a Rangers loss tonight would put them at third-best odds, with a pick no lower than fifth, in the 2026 NHL Draft Lottery. Sadly, those odds will worsen for now as the New York Rangers defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-2 in the Benchmark International Arena to end their season.
The puck dropped, and Garand had to be sharp early to start this one off. It didn't take the Rangers long to take advantage of Tampa's goaltender, who only played six seconds this season, as Tye Kartye, off a beautiful pass from Mika Zibanejad, made it 1-0 New York less than five minutes in. Tampa Bay may have had the edge that period, but New York had the better chances, including a shot off the bar by Will Cuylle. A beautiful save from New York's rookie goaltender off Yanni Gourde ended the first period, with New York maintaining their 1-0 lead in a quiet Benchmark International Arena. With 40 minutes left in their season, New York's draft odds were looking to be at a slight risk.
The second period began, and New York's draft odds looked even lower right off the bat. Right off the opening whistle, 29 seconds in, Tye Kartye roofed one for his second of the game, 2-0 Rangers. Not too long after, New York found themselves on the power play with a chance to keep their foot on the gas. Though they failed to score, seconds after Gabe Perreault threw one from the point that Halverson failed to pick up, making it 3-0 Rangers. Tampa Bay soon found themselves on the power play from a questionable call on Cuylle, which would shortly be evened up at four-on-four from a hooking call on Oliver Bjorkstrand. As it returned to even strength, the Lightning at last got on the board with Bjorkstrand close to the net, making it 3-1 with his 12th of the year. A brief scrum in front of the net soon led to another New York power play. Right off the faceoff, a feed from Alexis Lafreniere, with his 57th point this season, tying his career high, led to a tap-in by Mika Zibanejad, making it 4-1 New York with his 34th of the season. As the second period concluded, Tampa Bay simply couldn't get anything going, keeping it 4-1 with 20 to go in the Rangers' season.
The final 20 minutes were underway, and Tampa Bay got one right back less than a minute in. A sweet spinning backhander by Corey Perry found its way past Garand, making it 4-2 off Perry's 17th goal this season. The period went on, and Tampa Bay had their chances to get to within one, but the 23-year-old New York goaltender stood his ground. As the period came to a close, the Lightning failed to execute, but the score remained 4-2. With almost three minutes to go, Tampa Bay found themselves back on the power play with a chance to make it a one-goal game with plenty of time left. Tampa Bay put the pressure on, but Garand could not be beaten, as the Rangers killed the penalty. As the net remained empty for the Lightning, Kartye became inches from securing the hat trick. The final buzzer rang, and the New York Rangers ended their season with a 4-2 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
A nice final showing of this New York Rangers team, who look to begin their retooling stage off right to start next season. Tampa Bay, however, has plenty of work to do before their season is over as their ninth straight playoff push begins. As they go into these playoffs with most of their stars well rested, they'll look to make quick work of Montreal. New York fans now have nothing to do but hope the Calgary Flames can win their final game against the LA Kings tomorrow night to secure them with a guaranteed pick no lower than fifth. Another impressive season for the Lightning, followed by another frustrating season for the New York Rangers, though it may just be worth the watch as their countdown to the 2026 NHL Draft Lottery begins now.
