Hagel provides spark for Lightning in Game 4 comeback win

MONTREAL -- Brandon Hagel looked up at the raucous Bell Centre crowd that was showering him with boos and broke into a mischievous smile.

Fourteen months after they’d loved him here, they now loathed him here. And he was savoring every precious moment of it.

The Tampa Bay Lightning forward had just scored what would stand to be the winning goal with just 4:53 remaining in a dramatic 3-2 victory against the Montreal Canadiens in Game 4 of their Eastern Conference First Round series on Sunday. 

Here he was, being serenaded with jeers in the same building where he’d been so loudly cheered while with Team Canada for his opening face-off fight against Team USA’s Matthew Tkachuk during the preliminary-round game between the two teams at the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament on Feb. 15, 2025.

He enjoyed their reaction then. And he certainly did now, as polar opposite as it was this time around, 436 days later.

“Listen, you’ve got to embrace these types of atmospheres,” Hagel said after his heroics helped the Lightning even this best-of-7 series at 2-2. “You live to play in moments like this. This is why you want to get into the playoffs.

“In a regular season (game) you’re happy when you’re in a building that’s loud and fun to play in. So when you get to the playoffs it’s always like that. I mean, they’ve got passionate fans here.”

Ones that provided inspiration on this night thanks to their razzing of him.

“It puts a little chip on your shoulder,” he admitted. “But it’s fun to play here … it’s insane in there. It’s actually really cool.

“Again, these are the moments you have to embrace. They don’t happen too often.”

They certainly are for Hagel these days. The 27-year-old has pretty much become a one-man wrecking crew against the Canadiens and, in the process, has dragged the Lightning back into the fight in this series.

Through the first four games Hagel has scored six of Tampa’s 11 goals, most of any player in the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs. At the same time, he’s become the vocal and inspirational leader of the team, a key factor with captain Victor Hedman out of the lineup for personal reasons.

Those characteristics were on display when the Lightning were trailing 2-0 in the latter stages of the second period. With the joyous throng singing “Ole Ole Ole Ole” and Tampa Bay staring a 3-1 series deficit in the series directly in the face, Hagel was the one on the bench yelling at his teammate that this was far from over.

Then, after talking the talk, he went out and walked the walk.

After Jake Guentzel brought the Lightning to within 2-1 with 54 seconds remaining in the second, Hagel scored a pair of third-period goals to snatch victory from the jaws of a crushing defeat. Keep in mind that the comeback came after Montreal had produced the first two-goal lead by either team in the series.

“He’s definitely become the straw that stirs our drink,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. “And just some of the things … Even when we went down 2-0, I don’t know if you caught it but his passion on the bench, when he stood up and looked both ways, literally, I think he captivated the bench with the message he was saying and the message he was delivering.

“It’s one thing to say it. But there’s just guys, you know, like, they mean it, it’s coming from their heart, their soul. And you talk about the progression of things that helped us during this game, I think that was a big part of it too, us being down 2-0 but then to say it …

“He wasn’t saying ‘I’m going to score these goals.’ But you could tell if someone was going to do it, it was going to be him.”

Which he did, leaving some of his teammates in awe.

“Yeah, this guy, he just does it all,” Guentzel said, nodding at Hagel who was sitting next to him at the podium for their post-game press conference. “I mean, 200-foot player, plays both sides of the puck, and obviously he’s the hottest guy in the League right now. He’s done it all year.

“Obviously he’s a special player for our team so it’s been fun to watch. It’s been fun to be out there with him. And obviously he’s one of the best players in the League for a reason.”

Mention Hagel’s elite standard of play to teammate J.J. Moser and the defenseman just shakes his head in disbelief.

“Outstanding. Extraordinary. I think you know the words to describe what he’s doing for our team right now,” Moser said. 

“He’s fantastic. Just the way he carries our team and is there for us in every situation. That’s what’s really impressive about him. He’s so efficient and effective in every situation. And that’s rare to see in a player.”

This series has turned into a best-of-3 heading to Tampa Bay for Game 5 on Wednesday. In the interim, the Canadiens have to find a way to slow Hagel down.

Yes, Montreal has found a way to limit the Lightning’s other big offensive weapons in Guentzel, Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point to one goal each. But if Hagel continues his torrid pace, it would seem only a matter of time when those others start finding their shooting prowess as well.

In the meantime … 

“This is the best time of year,” Hagel said. “You’ve got to love it.”

He certainly is. 

Even if the passionate Montreal fans don’t feel that same way about him anymore.