"The fundamentals of the game do not often lead to fault. But breaks sometimes being what they are, they can result in unfortunate misgivings.

That's what happened to Victor Hedman, who did exactly what he was supposed to do on a play that led to a third-period tying goal as the Lightning wound up dropping a 4-3 overtime decision to the New York Rangers on Thursday night at Madison Square Garden.

Former Tampa Bay center Brad Richards scored the winning goal with 2 minutes, 23 seconds left in overtime.

Steven Stamkos scored his league-leading 36th goal of the season for the Lightning, while Vinny Lecavalier and Bruno Gervais also scored. Mathieu Garon had 27 saves in taking the loss.

With the season starting to dwindle, each point lost in the standings hurts Tampa Bay's hopes of crawling back into the playoff picture. Though the Lightning remained nine points back of the Southeast Division-leading Florida Panthers, they lost an opportunity to gain ground with a victory.

"Every point is crucial, whether gained or lost, depending on how you look at it," center Dominic Moore said. "But at the same time, we just have to continue to grab every point available."

That's why Hedman's play comes to the forefront.

Along the right boards, Hedman was in perfect position to block Carl Hagelin's dump attempt into the end boards. But the puck bounced off Hedman's stick, then off his leg and into the slot. Rangers forward Brian Boyle reared back and smacked the rolling puck past Garon to tie it with 9:47 left in the third."