Mika Zibanejad dazzles, Vitali Kravtsov injured in Rangers' opening win vs. Lightning

NEW YORK - By the time the dust settled on a turbulent preseason, Vitali Kravtsov was right where he hoped to be.

The 22-year-old forward began the Rangers' season-opening 3-1 win on Tuesday at Madison Square Garden playing right wing on the second line alongside Artemi Panarin and Vincent Trocheck. But in a flash, the opportunity vanished.

This time, it wasn't head coach Gerard Gallant changing the lines. Rather, it was Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman putting a dent in the Blueshirts' plans.

The 6-foot-6, 244-pounder welcomed Kravtsov back to the NHL with a crunching hit along the boards that left the rookie hunched over in pain early in the first period. He slowly skated to the bench and went right to the locker room, with the team later announcing he wouldn't return due to an upper-body injury.

Kravtsov only logged 1:28 time on ice before his exit. This came after starting camp with the top-six forwards, then getting dropped out of the lineup completely for the final two preseason games, then getting reinserted just one day before the opener.

In his place, Alexis Lafrenière moved up to the second line and shifted to right wing.

Mika Zibanejad picks up where he left off

Kravtsov's injury left the Rangers playing short one forward for the majority of the game, but Mika Zibanejad would pick up the slack.

The 29-year-old center picked up right where he left off last spring when he led the team with 24 points during their playoff run to the Eastern Conference Final. He scored each of their first two goals Tuesday, including the first in a shorthanded situation.

Moments after he and Chris Kreider nearly executed on a rush opportunity, Zibanejad got the puck back and made the second chance count. He faked out Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy with a left-leg lift before finishing with a nasty backhanded shot that went in just under the crossbar.

The Kreider-Zibanejad penalty killing duo produced four shorthanded goals last season and continue to look like a threat each time out.

You could really say that about Zibanejad in any situation. After Steven Stamkos scored on Tampa power play to send the game into the second period tied at 1-1, it was No. 93 at it again.

Zibanejad netted one of his patented one-timers from the left circle at the 5:11 mark to put the Rangers ahead, 2-1 − a lead that they wouldn't relinquish.

It came on a power play as part of a game that featured a total of 10 penalties.

The Blueshirts iced the win with nine minutes remaining, when Barclay Goodrow redirected a shot from Ryan Lindgren past Vasilevskiy.

Vincent Z. Mercogliano is the New York Rangers beat reporter for the USA TODAY Network.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Rangers-Lightning: Mika Zibanejad shines, Vitali Kravtsov injured