Lightning get 3rd win over Rangers

Martin St. Louis knows firsthand just how much fun the Tampa Bay Lightning can have when they get on a roll.

Seeing their success from the other side of the ice has been anything but enjoyable.

Brett Connolly’s second goal of the game during a third-period power play lifted the Lightning to their third straight win over the New York Rangers, 6-3 on Monday night.

St. Louis starred for years with Tampa Bay before being dealt to New York last season for Rangers captain Ryan Callahan. In his first three meetings against the Lightning over 15 days, St. Louis was 0-3 and saw his new team get outscored 15-7 while being swept in the season series.

“If you don’t get on the good side at least once, it’s tough to take,’’ said St. Louis, honored before the game for his 1,000th NHL point.

With St. Louis off for slashing, Connolly scored past Henrik Lundqvist at 5:34 for his fourth of the season. Tyler Johnson gave the Lightning a two-goal lead 1:24 later with his second of the night, and Ondrej Palat added an empty-netter with 26.4 seconds left to give Tampa Bay its fourth consecutive victory.

“This was special for me, to get two here. My first two-goal game,’’ Connolly said. “We didn’t have our best, but we found a way in the third period. We play good hockey against them.

Victor Hedman had three assists, and Ben Bishop made 32 saves to improve to 8-0 against the Rangers.

AP