New York Rangers at Tampa Bay Lightning

Tuesday, December 31, 1996, 7:30 PM ET Ice Palace, Tampa Regular Season Final

Final score

The Tampa Bay Lightning beat the New York Rangers 4–2 on Tuesday, December 31, 1996 at home.

Final score, New York Rangers at Tampa Bay Lightning
Team	Goals	1996-1997 record
New York Rangers	2	38-34-10
at Tampa Bay Lightning	4	32-40-10

Goals by period, New York Rangers at Tampa Bay Lightning
Team	1st period	2nd period	3rd period	Total
New York Rangers	1	0	1	2
Tampa Bay Lightning	3	0	1	4

Shots on goal by period, New York Rangers at Tampa Bay Lightning
Team	1st period	2nd period	3rd period	Total
New York Rangers	11	10	6	27
Tampa Bay Lightning	12	14	7	33

Scoring summary

Every goal, New York Rangers at Tampa Bay Lightning. Numbers in brackets are season totals.
Period	Time	Team	Goal	Assists	Type	Score
1st	02:52	Tampa Bay Lightning	Chris Gratton (13)	Roman Hamrlik (15), John Cullen (23)	Power play	NYR 0, TBL 1
1st	03:37	Tampa Bay Lightning	Alexander Selivanov (10)	Brian Bradley (11), Paul Ysebaert (2)	Even strength	NYR 0, TBL 2
1st	08:05	Tampa Bay Lightning	John Cullen (10)	Alexander Selivanov (4), Chris Gratton (13)	Power play	NYR 0, TBL 3
1st	12:56	New York Rangers	Adam Graves (13)	Bruce Driver (12), Alex Kovalev (19)	Power play	NYR 1, TBL 3
3rd	18:27	New York Rangers	Brian Noonan (7)	Unassisted	Even strength	NYR 2, TBL 3
3rd	19:30	Tampa Bay Lightning	Roman Hamrlik (6)	Bill Houlder (7)	Even strength, Empty net	NYR 2, TBL 4

Numbers in brackets are the player's season totals after the goal.

New York Rangers skaters
Player	Position	Goals	Assists	Points	Plus/minus	Penalty minutes	Shots on goal	Power-play goals
Number 8 P. Flatley	R	0	0	0	-1	0	1	0
Number 9 A. Graves	L	1	0	1	-1	0	3	1
Number 11 M. Messier	C	0	0	0	-1	0	3	0
Number 13 S. Nemchinov	L	0	0	0	-1	0	1	0
Number 16 D. Goneau	L	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Number 18 B. Berg	L	0	0	0	-1	0	2	0
Number 20 L. Robitaille	L	0	0	0	+1	0	1	0
Number 22 S. Churla	R	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
Number 24 N. Sundstrom	R	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
Number 27 A. Kovalev	R	0	1	1	0	2	4	0
Number 28 B. Noonan	R	1	0	1	0	0	2	0
Number 99 W. Gretzky	C	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
Number 2 B. Leetch	D	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
Number 5 U. Samuelsson	D	0	0	0	-1	7	3	0
Number 6 D. Lidster	D	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Number 23 J. Beukeboom	D	0	0	0	+1	0	0	0
Number 25 A. Karpovtsev	D	0	0	0	-2	2	1	0
Number 33 B. Driver	D	0	1	1	0	2	1	0

New York Rangers goalies
Goalie	Shots against	Saves	Goals against	Save percentage	Time on ice	Decision
Number 30 G. Healy	32	29	3	.906	59:38	Loss

Tampa Bay Lightning skaters
Player	Position	Goals	Assists	Points	Plus/minus	Penalty minutes	Shots on goal	Power-play goals
Number 7 R. Zamuner	L	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
Number 9 J. Toms	L	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
Number 12 J. Cullen	C	1	1	2	0	0	3	1
Number 15 P. Ysebaert	L	0	1	1	+1	0	2	0
Number 18 D. Langkow	C	0	0	0	0	0	4	0
Number 19 B. Bradley	C	0	1	1	+1	0	2	0
Number 22 D. Ciccarelli	R	0	0	0	0	2	0	0
Number 28 P. Poulin	L	0	0	0	0	5	2	0
Number 29 A. Selivanov	R	1	1	2	+1	0	6	0
Number 34 M. Andersson	R	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Number 74 B. Myhres	R	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Number 77 C. Gratton	C	1	1	2	0	2	3	1
Number 2 B. Houlder	D	0	1	1	+1	0	3	0
Number 4 C. Cross	D	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
Number 5 I. Ulanov	D	0	0	0	+1	2	1	0
Number 27 D. Shaw	D	0	0	0	-1	2	0	0
Number 44 R. Hamrlik	D	1	1	2	0	0	2	0
Number 55 D. Bannister	D	0	0	0	+1	0	2	0

Tampa Bay Lightning goalies
Goalie	Shots against	Saves	Goals against	Save percentage	Time on ice	Decision
Number 31 R. Tabaracci	27	25	2	.926	60:00	Win

Penalties, New York Rangers at Tampa Bay Lightning
Period	Time	Team	Player	Infraction	Minutes
1st	02:07	New York Rangers	Bruce Driver	Holding	2
1st	07:24	New York Rangers	Ulf Samuelsson	Roughing	2
1st	12:12	Tampa Bay Lightning	David Shaw	Interference	2
1st	13:40	New York Rangers	Ulf Samuelsson	Fighting (major)	5
1st	13:40	Tampa Bay Lightning	Patrick Poulin	Fighting (major)	5
1st	16:18	Tampa Bay Lightning	Rick Tabaracci	Delaying game	2
2nd	08:12	Tampa Bay Lightning	Chris Gratton	Roughing	2
2nd	11:02	Tampa Bay Lightning	Igor Ulanov	Interference	2
3rd	00:39	New York Rangers	Alex Kovalev	Interference	2
3rd	02:51	New York Rangers	Alexander Karpovtsev	High sticking	2
3rd	02:51	Tampa Bay Lightning	Dino Ciccarelli	High sticking	2

New York Rangers head coach: Colin Campbell
Tampa Bay Lightning head coach: Terry Crisp
Referees: Paul Devorski
Linesmen: Danny McCourt, Jean Morin
New York Rangers scratches: Jayson More, Jeff Nielsen, Peter Ferraro, Eric Cairns, Chris Ferraro, Ryan Vandenbussche, Vladimir Vorobiev, Darren Langdon, Sylvain Blouin, Christian Dube
Tampa Bay Lightning scratches: Shawn Burr, Rudy Poeschek, Daren Puppa, Jay Wells, Craig Wolanin, Paul Brousseau, Derek Wilkinson, Allan Egeland, Brent Peterson, Jason Wiemer

Every New York Rangers and Tampa Bay Lightning game in the 1996-1997 season
Matchup	Status	Details
New York Rangers 2 at Tampa Bay Lightning 5	Final	Game page: New York Rangers at Tampa Bay Lightning, Sun, Oct 20, 1996
Tampa Bay Lightning 5 at New York Rangers 3	Final	Game page: Tampa Bay Lightning at New York Rangers, Mon, Nov 4, 1996
New York Rangers 2 at Tampa Bay Lightning 4	Final	Game page: New York Rangers at Tampa Bay Lightning, Tue, Dec 31, 1996
Tampa Bay Lightning 4 at New York Rangers 3	Final	Game page: Tampa Bay Lightning at New York Rangers, Wed, Jan 8, 1997
Tampa Bay Lightning 4 at New York Rangers 2	Final	Game page: Tampa Bay Lightning at New York Rangers, Fri, Apr 11, 1997

Other NHL games on Tuesday, December 31, 1996
Matchup	Status	Details
New Jersey Devils 5 at Buffalo Sabres 6	Final	Game page: New Jersey Devils at Buffalo Sabres, Tue, Dec 31, 1996
San Jose Sharks 5 at Calgary Flames 1	Final	Game page: San Jose Sharks at Calgary Flames, Tue, Dec 31, 1996
Philadelphia Flyers 5 at Vancouver Canucks 3	Final	Game page: Philadelphia Flyers at Vancouver Canucks, Tue, Dec 31, 1996
Colorado Avalanche 4 at Chicago Blackhawks 1	Final	Game page: Colorado Avalanche at Chicago Blackhawks, Tue, Dec 31, 1996