Things didn’t look promising for the Rangers Sunday when they discovered before their matinee matchup with the Tampa Bay Lightning at Madison Square Garden that they would be without leading scorer Artemi Panarin, who was placed in COVID protocol before the game.
And it didn’t work in the Rangers’ favor either, that the Lightning would be getting back No. 1 goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy and forward Anthony Cirelli from their COVID list and defenseman Erik Cernak from injury.
But Mika Zibanejad stepped up to fill the huge hole created by Panarin’s absence, scoring three goals, while Chris Kreider had three assists, Igor Shesterkin made 38 saves and the Rangers stunned the Lightning, 4-0, sweeping the home-and-home series with the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions.