The Lightning win streak jumped to seven games on Saturday with a 4-1 victory over the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden.
Brandon Hagel scored twice, and Nikita Kucherov scored a team-high three points, all assists. The Lightning are now 16-7-2 this season.
Brandon Hagel made it 1-0 Tampa Bay in the first period when his shot took a fortunate bounce off a Rangers defenseman’s skate, and he doubled the visitors’ lead by burying his own rebound in the second period.
New York joined in the scoring with a backdoor goal for JT Miller late in the second period, but Nick Paul restored the visitors’ two-goal lead early in the third.
Jake Guentzel ended the night with an empty-net goal.
Lightning goalie Jonas Johansson earned the win with 10 saves, while Igor Shesterkin had 31 for the Rangers.
Tampa Bay closes a three-game road trip this Tuesday with a visit to play the New York Islanders.
Scoring summary
First period
TBL 1, NYR 0
10:53 Brandon Hagel (14) – Darren Raddysh, Nikita Kucherov
Brandon Hagel’s shot from the top of the offensive zone went off a Rangers defenseman’s skate and bounced into the net for the game’s first goal.
Shots on goal: TBL 11, NYR 2
Second period
TBL 2, NYR 0
8:57 Hagel (15) – Kucherov, Raddysh
Hagel’s second goal of the game came when he buried the rebound following his own breakaway chance.
TBL 2, NYR 1
17:31 JT Miller (7) – Adam Fox, Mika Zibanejad
Rangers forward JT Miller won a battle at the Lightning net and tapped home a pass from Adam Fox near the blue paint to halve the Lightning lead.
Shots on goal: TBL 16, NYR 6
Third period
TBL 3, NYR 1
2:02 Nick Paul (2) – Kucherov, Charle-Edouard D’Astous
Just as a Lightning power play expired, Nick Paul restored the visitors’ two-goal advantage with a netfront look.
TBL 4, NYR 1
19:41 Jake Guentzel (14) – Yanni Gourde – EN
The day ended with an empty-net goal for Jake Guentzel.
Total shots: TBL 35, NYR 12
