- Brandon Hagel scored three goals and added an assist in Tampa Bay’s 5-3 win over the Islanders
- Hagel broke a 3-3 tie with 1:44 left, then hit the empty net 21 seconds later
- Read below for the full breakdown, Cooper’s take and a Victor Hedman milestone
Brandon Hagel took over on Long Island.
The Lightning winger scored three goals and added an assist in Tampa Bay’s 5-3 win over the Islanders on Saturday night. He broke a 3-3 tie with 1:44 left in the third period and sealed it with an empty-netter 21 seconds later, according to NHL.com’s Stefen Rosner.
It was the fourth hat trick of Hagel’s NHL career. It also made it four wins in a row for the Lightning, who sit at 4-1-0.
Hagel talked about the winning streak and the new faces in the Tampa Bay room after the game.
“It’s a good feeling for the group,” Hagel said. “Obviously, not everything’s the same here in this group. We’ve got new players, and you want to be able to build some confidence within the team, within the group, and doing that early into the season is a big part of that.”
Catch the NHL’s highlights of the game:
His first goal came late in the opening period. Victor Hedman got the puck up the ice, Hagel outraced the New York defenders and beat Ilya Sorokin to make it 2-0 at 15:42.
The Islanders fought all the way back. Tony DeAngelo and Brayden Schenn scored, and Schenn’s power-play goal in the final seconds of the second period tied it at 3 after Jake Guentzel had given Tampa Bay a 3-1 lead with his second of the night.
Andrei Vasilevskiy, who tied Andy Moog on the all-time wins list earlier this month, made 20 saves. He had to be sharp in the third, including a skate save on an Anthony Duclair wraparound attempt.
Hagel’s winner came off a play from the back end. Ryan McDonagh passed to Max Crozier at center ice, Crozier found Hagel, and he snapped a shot from the top of the left circle past Sorokin.
Lightning head coach Jon Cooper was asked about the finish after the game. His group had blown a two-goal lead and been tied on the road heading into the third.
“But now you’re going into the third period, tied on the road, and I thought we bent but didn’t break,” Cooper said. “And then one of our playmakers made a play. It was good for us.”
The hat trick was the franchise’s 18th since 2022-23, and only four teams have more over that stretch. Hedman also picked up an assist and passed Sergei Gonchar for third place among defensemen born outside North America in NHL history with 812 career points. Only Nicklas Lidstrom and Erik Karlsson are ahead of him.
Tampa Bay finishes its short New York road trip Tuesday night against the Rangers.
