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Bolts, Rangers clash in Callahan's return to NYC

Nov 17, 2014 - 3:52 PM (SportsNetwork.com) - After dropping a controversial shootout decision the last time out, the New York Rangers will try to win for just the second time in six games Monday when they host former Blueshirts captain Ryan Callahan and the Tampa Bay Lightning at Madison Square Garden.

The Rangers have lost two straight in shootouts after posting a 5-0 home win against Pittsburgh on Tuesday. New York thought it had another win over the Penguins in Saturday's road test, but a video review eventually gave Pittsburgh another chance to win the game, which it did when Brandon Sutter scored in the fourth round.

After playing to a 2-2 tie through 65 minutes, the Rangers and Pens were knotted at 1-1 in the shootout when it appeared New York's Dan Boyle won the game in the third round.

The Rangers celebrated what it thought to be a win after Boyle slid a shot past Marc-Andre Fleury, but replays showed his attempt hit the post before striking his stick for a double-hit. Both teams had already gone to their respective locker rooms before being summoned back to continue the shootout.

Sutter then put Pittsburgh ahead by beating Henrik Lundqvist between the pads and Fleury stopped Rick Nash with his left arm to give the Penguins the extra point.

"That's a high to a low in a hurry," Boyle said. "I think we left a point out there, that's the way I look at it."

Lundqvist made 36 saves, including stops of Sidney Crosby and Kris Letang on breakaways in overtime, and Lee Stempniak and Martin St. Louis each had goals in the loss, New York's fourth in its last five outings.

The Blueshirts hope to rebound Monday when it welcomes back Callahan and a host of former Rangers to the Big Apple.

The Lightning have been dubbed by some as the "Rangers South" due to the presence of Callahan and fellow ex-Rangers Brian Boyle and Anton Stralman on their roster. Tampa bolstered its defense by signing Stralman to a five-year, $20.5 million deal this offseason and also added Boyle, inking the grinding centerman to a three-year, $9.4 million contract.

While Callahan's Lightning flamed out in the playoffs last spring, getting swept in the opening round by Montreal, St. Louis helped New York make a run to the Stanley Cup Finals before it lost to Los Angeles. This season, however, the Rangers-infused Lightning boast a 13-4-1 record compared to a 7-6-4 mark for the defending Eastern Conference champions.

Tonight's tilt marks Callahan's first game against the Rangers, while Boyle and Stralman, who played for other teams before joining New York, face the Blueshirts for the first time since leaving the nest.

Callahan, 29, was drafted by New York in 2004 and became the team captain prior to the 2011-12 season. He posted 132 goals and 122 assists in 450 games with the Rangers and has 13 points (6 goals, 7 assists) in 13 tilts for Tampa this season.

St. Louis will face the Lightning for the first time since getting dealt last March. He is the franchise's all-time leading scorer with 953 points on 365 goals and 588 assists. The last time St. Louis faced the Bolts was on Jan. 8, 2000 while a member of the Calgary Flames.

The Lightning enter Monday's showdown with a 7-1-1 record in their past nine games. They snapped a two-game slide by beating the visiting New York Islanders, 5-2, on Saturday.

After falling behind 2-1 to the Isles in the early going, Tampa tallied four unanswered scores to take control of the game. The Bolts led 3-2 after 20 minutes and added one goal in each the second and third periods.

"We wanted to have a good first period and I thought we did that," said Callahan. "And it carried over into the second and third."

Ben Bishop made 25 saves and five Lightning players scored in the win. The goals by Callahan, Valtteri Filppula, Cedric Paquette, Tyler Johnson and Radko Gudas helped Tampa Bay snap New York's five-game winning streak.

Callahan and Filppula each had an assist and Jason Garrison added two helpers for the Lightning.

Tampa leads the NHL with 65 goals, including 39 in their last nine games.

The Lightning won two of three meetings against the Rangers last season, but New York has four wins over the past six encounters. Tampa has claimed four of its last seven tilts at MSG.

The Bolts are 5-2-1 as the visiting team this season and New York is 5-3-3 as the host.