Hagel scores twice, Lightning defeat Rangers for 7th win in row

NEW YORK -- Brandon Hagel scored twice to extend his goal streak to five games and the Tampa Bay Lightning won their seventh consecutive game, 4-1 against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Saturday.

Tampa Bay (16-7-2) has won 15 of its past 18 games (15-3-0), including five straight on the road. It has won its past four games without forward Brayden Point, and defensemen Victor Hedman, Erik Cernak and Ryan McDonagh, each out with an injury.

"Honestly, we've got a really good vibe going," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. "The game yesterday (6-3 win at the Detroit Red Wings on Friday), we did not have a good first period and we addressed some of our issues. We got better as that game went on. I thought we had a really good third and we just brought it right into today. These back-to-backs are tough. We knew they had it too, and they had a goalie that was playing both games so we thought, hopefully we could jump on them early. Fortunately, we did."

Hagel has eight goals in his past five games and 12 in November, tied with Dallas Stars forward Jason Robertson for the most goals this month. He has 15 goals in 16 games since Oct. 26 after not scoring in the first eight games of the season.

"It's hard to get through that frustration when you know that puck is not going in for you, but when you keep creating as much as he is, this is what happens," Cooper said. "Now they're coming in bunches."

Nikita Kucherov had three assists to run his point streak to nine games (four goals, 14 assists), including five straight multi-point games. Nick Paul and Jake Guentzel scored, and Jonas Johansson made 12 saves for the Lightning, who outshot the Rangers 35-13.

"We did it to ourselves," Rangers captain J.T. Miller said. "There was no urgency today. We dipped our toe into the game and got outplayed basically the whole time. It's unacceptable. We're trying to develop a standard and an identity around here and that was certainly not it."

Miller scored, and Igor Shesterkin made 31 saves after making 19 in a 6-2 win at the Boston Bruins on Friday. The Rangers (13-12-2) had a three-game winning streak end. Their 13 shots on goal were a season low.

"We got outcompeted from the drop of the puck," Rangers coach Mike Sullivan said. "There's got to be a willingness and a want to be first to pucks, to embrace physicality. We knew the type of game it was going to be. That team, they've got hard skill, they compete and they skate. That was the type of game it was going to be. I don't think we had the wherewithal to match the intensity. I just feel we lost puck battles all over the rink and it's hard to establish any sort of game that you want to play if you don't win puck battles."

Hagel gave the Lightning a 1-0 lead at 10:53 of the first period. His shot from the top of the left face-off circle went in off Rangers defenseman Carson Soucy's right skate.

Tampa Bay was outshooting the Rangers 10-1 at that point. It had a 19-2 edge in total shot attempts.

"Sometimes in games, that'll be happening where you'll be putting all the pressure on and then one goes in the back of your net," Hagel said. "Glad it went in on our side and obviously we were able to build off of it, continuing throughout the game, continuing to play the exact same way."

Hagel made it 2-0 at 8:57 of the second period. He took a stretch pass from Kucherov in for a breakaway on Shesterkin, who did the splits and stopped Hagel's initial shot with his left pad. But Hagel recovered the puck in the slot and lifted it over Shesterkin's pad.

"Gladly the 'D-man' went to the left side so I had the time to pull it out and put it up," Hagel said.

Miller made it 2-1 at 17:31. Adam Fox carried the puck through the right circle and moved it across the slot to Miller at the left post, where the puck went in off his right skate.

The Rangers killed off a Lightning power play that carried into the first 1:41 of the third period. But 21 seconds later, Paul scored to make it 3-1.

Kucherov, who was below the goal line on the right side, found Paul in the slot for a redirect on his forehand at 2:02.

"We kill it off, we get back to 5-on-5, and then they get one off the rush," Sullivan said. "Just attention to detail. We had numbers back and we just don't defend it the right way. But we've got to find a way to push back."

Guentzel scored an empty-net goal at 19:42 for the 4-1 final.

"I just feel like we found our team identity and we're building on it," Paul said. "We found what it takes to win and we're just buying in every single game."

NOTES: Fox was being evaluated for an upper-body injury after the game, Sullivan said. He left the game with 12:57 remaining in the third period after getting hit hard and sandwiched into the end boards by Hagel and was holding his left arm as he left the ice. … Rangers defenseman Will Borgen returned after missing five games with an upper-body injury. He had a game-high six hits in 19:50 of ice time.