The Tampa Bay Lightning opened the 2026-27 season with a 5-1 loss to the New York Rangers on Thursday at Madison Square Garden.
New York grabbed a 2-0 lead in the first period and then scored twice more in the middle frame. Nikita Kucherov scored the visitors’ lone goal, with Brayden Point and Ilya Mikheyev getting the assists.
Three different Rangers finished with two points, while Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy made 20 saves. Goalie Igor Shesterkin posted 24 stops for the Rangers and added an empty-net goal.
Tampa Bay will now prepare for the home opener this Saturday, a 7 p.m. matchup with the Washington Capitals.
Scoring Summary
First period
NYR 1, TBL 0
5:34 Mika Zibanejad (1) - Pavel Dorofeyev, Adam Fox - PP
The Rangers opened the scoring on the game’s first power play, as Zibanejad buried his shot from the left faceoff circle following a broken stick for the Lightning.
NYR 2, TBL 0
10:41 Dorofeyev (1) - Bjorkstrand
The Rangers built on the lead with a rush chance near the net following a Lightning turnover in the offensive zone.
Shots on goal: TBL 9, NYR 7
Second period
NYR 3, TBL 0
1:40 Eeli Tolvanen (1) - Braden Schneider, Noah Laba
The Rangers tripled the advantage when a pass to the crease early in the middle frame caromed into the Lightning net.
NYR 3, TBL 1
7:59 Nikita Kucherov (1) - Ilya Mikheyev, Brayden Point
Tampa Bay got involved in the offense thanks to Nikita Kucherov, whose centering pass bounced off a Rangers defenseman before crossing the goal line.
NYR 4, TBL 1
16:01 Gabe Perreault (1) - Fox, Zibanejad
The Rangers reclaimed the three-goal lead with a redirection from Gabe Perreault in front of the net.
Shots on goal: NYR 11, TBL 10
Third period
NYR 5, TBL 1
17:26 Igor Shesterkin (1) - Unassisted - ENG
A goalie goal into the empty cage ended the night.
Total shots: TBL 25, NYR 25
