Thursday NHL Preview: New York vs. Tampa Bay

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Thursday NHL Preview: New York vs. Tampa Bay

The Rangers and the Lightning are two very good teams, but they both are off losses when they face each other on Thursday night.

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This is the third of four meetings, with the Rangers picking up three of four points via a win and shootout loss. The last game was particularly notable, as Lightning star Martin St. Louis was injured during the morning skate at Madison Square Garden when he took a puck in the eye from teammate Dominic Moore, who went on to tie the game at 2-2 with a late goal and added the shootout winner.

The Lightning are 10 points out of a playoff spot, but they've been making a push to get back into the mix lately. They are 6-1-1 in their last eight games as they embark on a three-game road trip that starts Thursday night in New York.

They had a chance Tuesday to make headway against several teams near the bottom of the playoff chase -- Toronto, Ottawa and Florida all lost in regulation -- but the Lightning couldn't solve the defensively stingy Kings.

Tuesday's loss at home to the Devils could've been a dramatic post-regulation victory. Artem Anisimov appeared to score the tying goal with 3.5 seconds left in the third period, but the goal was waved off when Marian Gaborik collided with goaltender Martin Brodeur.

The Rangers fell 1-0, but they weren't disappointed in their overall game.

St. Louis has 5 goals and 3 assists in his last 5 games for the Lightning.

The Lightning are without forwards Adam Hall (upper body) and Dana Tyrell (knee), while Ryan Malone (upper body) is day-to-day. Defensemen Mattias Ohlund (knee) is out and Marc-Andre Bergeron (upper body) is day-to-day. … Michael Sauer (concussion) is out, but the Rangers lack any new injuries. These injuries will have to be overcome for one of these teams if they want to get a victory.