Rangers beat Lightning in Prague season opener

By Jason Hovet

PRAGUE (Reuters) - The New York Rangers defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-1 thanks to a late powerplay goal to get the season underway in the Czech capital Saturday.

Rangers center Brandon Dubinsky secured victory with just under six minutes remaining having been caught in the face moments earlier by Lightning winger Gary Roberts, who was booked for high-sticking.

The game, played in front of 17,085 fans at Prague's O2 Arena, was the first regular-season game played in continental Europe as the NHL continues its bid to reach a wider audience.

The Rangers and Lightning are playing back-to-back games over the weekend in Prague while the Pittsburgh Penguins and Ottawa Senators also meet twice in Stockholm.

The weekend set follows a successful opening to the season in London last year.

BACKHAND GOAL

Rangers newcomer Markus Naslund opened the scoring with 1:52 left in the second period before Lightning winger Martin St Louis countered four minutes into the third with a backhand goal. Dubinsky said victory was more important than him getting the winning goal.

"The bottom line is we needed two points,' he told reporters. "If it didn't come from me it was going to come from somewhere. It was our game to win."

The Rangers, who outshot the Lightning 41-21, were eliminated by Stanley Cup runner-up Pittsburgh in last season's Eastern Conference semi-finals and have brought in new players to fill the void left by Czech forward Jaromir Jagr, who signed for Russian club Omsk Vanguard in July.

"We wanted to make sure we simplified our game this year," said Rangers coach Tom Renney. "A powerplay is a classic example of getting the puck to the net and taking what your opponent gives you."

(Editing by Tony Jimenez)