The Tampa Bay Lightning extended their winning streak to seven games with a decisive 4-1 victory over the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Saturday. The Lightning's dominant performance silenced the home crowd, who voiced their displeasure as the Rangers' home woes continued.
Brandon Hagel led the charge for the Lightning, scoring twice. Hagel's first goal came at 10:53 of the first period, deflecting off Rangers defenseman Carson Soucy's skate. He extended the lead at 8:57 of the second period, sliding his own rebound past Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin for his team-leading 15th goal of the season. Nikita Kucherov and Darren Raddysh assisted on both of Hagel's goals. Kucherov now has a nine-game point streak with four goals and 14 assists and leads the Lightning with 32 points. Raddysh has accumulated 11 points in his last seven games.
J.T. Miller temporarily disrupted Jonas Johansson's shutout bid, scoring for the Rangers at 17:31 of the second period, assisted by Adam Fox and Mika Zibanejad. However, Nick Paul responded early in the third period, scoring at 2:02, with an assist from rookie defenseman Charle-Edouard D'Astous, to extend the Lightning's lead. Jake Guentzel sealed the victory with an empty-net goal at 19:41.
The Lightning have been on a roll since November 18, boasting a perfect 7-0-0 record and outscoring their opponents 30-10 in that span. In contrast, the Rangers have struggled at home, falling to 2-8-1 with five shutouts and three other games where they only managed to score one goal. Their road record is significantly better at 11-4-1.
The Lightning were without key players due to injuries, including defensemen Victor Hedman, Ryan McDonagh, and Erik Cernak, as well as forward Brayden Point, who missed his fourth consecutive game.
Goaltender Jonas Johansson made 11 saves for the Lightning, while Igor Shesterkin stopped 31 of 34 shots for the Rangers. The Lightning outshot the Rangers 11-2 in the first period, with New York not registering their first shot on goal until the 9:29 mark. Neither team was able to capitalize on the power play, both going 0-for-2.
A notable moment occurred at 7:03 of the third period when Adam Fox left the game after a hard check into the boards by Hagel, with Fox's left arm appearing to absorb the impact.
The Lightning continue their road trip with a game against the New York Islanders on Tuesday, while the Rangers will host the Dallas Stars on the same day.
