Brandon Hagel absolutely exploded late in the game Saturday night, scoring two goals with less than two minutes left on the clock to complete a hat trick and power the Tampa Bay Lightning to a 5-3 victory over the New York Islanders. That late surge pushed the Lightning’s winning streak to four straight games, showing off some serious resilience on the road.
Hagel’s Late-Game Heroics Shut Down the Comeback
This wasn’t just a regular hat trick, folks. This was the kind of performance that rips the heart right out of the opposition. Hagel wasn’t messing around, netting the go-ahead goal with a mere 1:44 remaining in regulation. Then, just 21 seconds later, he iced the game with an empty-netter. Seriously, 21 seconds! What a clinic. Jake Guentzel also had a huge night for Tampa Bay, scoring twice himself, while Andrei Vasilevskiy was solid between the pipes, making 20 saves. This win marked a perfect start to their brief two-game road trip in New York, and it’s clear the Lightning are on a roll right now. Guentzel actually got things started early, opening the scoring 5:45 into the first period. Hagel then doubled Tampa Bay’s lead less than five minutes later, skating past Ryan Pulock and converting on a breakaway. Guentzel’s second goal, a power-play tally, gave the Lightning what looked like a comfortable 3-1 lead at one point.
Islanders Showed Fight, But Couldn’t Finish
The Islanders didn’t roll over easy, though. Tony DeAngelo, Matthew Schaefer, and Brayden Schenn all found the back of the net, and Ilya Sorokin put up 21 saves in a tough outing. After falling behind by two goals, the Islanders battled hard in the second half of the second period to claw their way back and tie the score at 3. Schaefer pulled off some sweet skating to evade Anthony Cirelli along the blue line, carving out a shooting lane before firing a shot past Vasilevskiy to bring them within one. Then, in the final seconds of that same period, Schenn tried a slick cross-ice pass to Kyle Palmieri, but the puck deflected off Lightning defenseman Erik Cernak and right into the net for a power-play goal that tied it up. DeAngelo had also chipped in earlier, scoring his first goal of the season at 6:27 of the second with a wrist shot from the point that sailed over Vasilevskiy’s glove. There was even some old-school hockey thrown in there when Islanders defenseman Logan Stanley and Lightning forward Pontus Holmberg dropped the gloves in the second period. They showed grit, but Hagel’s late surge was just too much to overcome.
Up next, the Lightning will visit the New York Rangers on Tuesday night. The Islanders, licking their wounds, will host the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday night.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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