At the start of the night, Tyler Motte’s line was disconnected.
A direct consequence of Patrick Kane’s injury was that Gerard Gallant needed someone to fill his spot on the top line, and that someone — Jimmy Vesey — came from Motte’s line.
He skated with a defenseman, Ben Harpur, in warm-ups.
Some of his linemates, outside of Barclay Goodrow, throughout the night were wingers working overtime.
But by the end of the Rangers’ 6-3 victory over the Lightning, Motte had compiled his first multi-goal game since Jan. 27, 2021.
It was the third of his career — with two others coming in the postseason — and he needed just 11:55 of ice time for the goals.
“He had good jump,” Rangers head coach Gerard Gallant said, “and he had a lot of shot opportunities at the net. So good for him.”
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Motte had a pair of chances following the second goal to complete the first hat trick of his career, but missed on a pair of opportunities late in the second and third periods — including one he wanted to at least hit the net on off the rush.
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“I think when you have two shots that may not be your best that go in, you kinda want to continue to shoot,” Motte said.
Motte now has five goals in 20 games since the Rangers reacquired him from the Senators, but his most recent two weren’t exactly highlight-reel goals. For his first, in the opening period, he just flipped the puck from the side boards and managed to slip it between Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy and the post.
He was trying to get the puck to a teammate cutting toward the post, Motte said postgame. He even thought someone had tipped it. But then the goal was credited to him, and the Blueshirts’ fourth line — or at least a piece of it — had found another way to contribute.
Then, just 15 seconds after Tampa Bay pulled within 3-2 in the second period, Motte chipped the puck along the boards, maneuvering around Mikhail Sergachev, and raced in — a stride in front of any Lightning defenseman — and ripped the puck past Vasilevskiy.
“They don’t ask how pretty [the goals were],” Motte said postgame. “They ask how many. Sometimes, you get a lucky bounce here or there, but it’s good to see them go in.”
