TAMPA, Fla. (AP) – Dominic Moore scored twice during New York’s four-goal third period and the Rangers sent the defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning to their fifth straight loss with a 5-2 victory on Thursday night.

Henrik Lundqvist had 23 saves for the Rangers, who have won four consecutive road games. Moore scored the tying goal Wednesday with three seconds left in regulation and New York went on to beat Florida 4-3 in a shootout.

Jason Ward ended a 14-game goal scoring drought to give New York a 2-1 lead at 4:40 of the third. Ward scored on the rebound after Lightning goalie John Grahame made a pad save on Blair Betts’ shot. Moore had a power-play goal at 7:18 before making it 4-2 on a breakaway backhander with 4:12 remaining.

Marcel Hossa ended the scoring with an empty-net goal in the final minute, helping the Rangers (10-5-3) go five games over .500 for the first time since Dec. 31, 2001.

Dan Boyle pulled Tampa Bay within 3-2 on a power-play goal with 8:47 left. The Lightning’s losing streak is their longest since they dropped six straight – including an overtime defeat to start it – from March 24-April 3, 2002.

Ville Nieminen put the Rangers ahead 1-0 at 11:14 of the first. He took a pass from Hossa just inside the blue line and skated in alone down the slot before scoring his first goal in 11 games.

Grahame kept it a one-goal game when he made a glove save during a breakaway by Petr Prucha with two minutes left in the first. Grahame finished with 15 saves.

Vincent Lecavalier tied it at 5:13 of the second when his shot from the right circle appeared to hit Rangers defenseman Tim Poti’s stick. Vinny Prospal assisted on the goal, giving him eight assists and 12 points during an eight-game point streak.

The Rangers went without a shot for the first 131/2 minutes of the second. New York then had one shot during a 5-on-3 advantage that lasted 1:25 of the period.

Notes: Tampa Bay’s 20-year old goalie Gerald Coleman, recalled Wednesday from Springfield of the AHL, served as Grahame’s backup and became the first member of the NHL diversity program to dress for a regular-season game. … New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner watched from a suite. … Thursday marked the seventh anniversary of the Rangers’ 10-2 win over Lightning. Tampa Bay entered that game tied for its best record through 14 games (6-6-2), but the loss started a 2-17-1 stretch.

AP-ES-11-10-05 2205EST


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