NEWARK, N.J. — With Steven Stamkos out for Tuesday’s road game against the Devils, Brandon Hagel was reunited with Brayden Point and Nikita Kucherov on the Lightning’s top scoring line.
Lightning coach Jon Cooper liked the energy Hagel brought to the line when Stamkos went out of Saturday’s game with an apparent left knee injury, and filling in for Stamkos in New Jersey, Hagel’s game hit another level.
The 25-year-old was the best player on the ice, scoring a go-ahead goal and setting up two others, including a short-handed goal that shifted momentum in the first period.
The Lightning’s 4-1 win, over a Devils team that is one of the hottest in the league, was one of Tampa Bay’s most spirited efforts over the past month and offered a glimpse of their potential on the road.
The Lightning entered the night with a sub-.500 record away from Amalie Arena (15-16-1), but they took the home crowd out of the game after Hagel scored at the 8:52 mark of the second period, the first of three Tampa Bay goals in the middle 20 minutes.
Hagel took a pass from Mikhail Sergachev at his own blue line and broke free, speeding up open ice before slowing down at the left dot and slapping a wrister past Devils goaltender Vitek Vanecek far post past his glove side to put the Lightning up 2-1.
Midway through the first, the Lightning were in danger of falling out of the game early when Devils defenseman Ryan Graves found the back of the net with 8:32 left in the period.
The goal gave New Jersey a 2-0 lead at that point, but after studying the replay monitors on the Lightning bench, Cooper challenged the goal, arguing goaltender interference on Tomas Tatar, who had obstructed Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy.
After video review, the Lightning won the challenge, negating the goal, and essentially tilting momentum.
The Lightning (40-22-6, 86 points) found themselves in another tough situation when Ian Cole took a tripping penalty with 4:23 left in the period. But 40 seconds into the penalty kill, Anthony Cirelli put the Lightning on the board with his second short-handed goal in as many games.
Hagel pushed the puck up the ice, catching the Devils flat-footed with his speed, and found Cirelli in the slot. Just like he did Sunday against Winnipeg, Cirelli pulled back for a back-handed shot that found the back of the net.
Cirelli became the second player in Lightning history to score short-handed goals in back-to-back games, joining Stamkos, who did it April 4-6, 2019.
Hagel also set up Alex Killorn for his sixth goal in his past seven games, dropping a pass to him at the left circle after winning the puck by the red line and maintaining possession through Jesper Bratt’s relentless backcheck.
Nikita Kucherov then capped the period, putting the Lightning up 4-1 with 0.5 seconds remaining in the second with his 27th goal of the season.
Stamkos left Saturday’s game in the first period, but played the following night against Winnipeg. He was stung by a first-period blocked shot to the same leg Sunday, but finished the game. Stamkos is listed as day-to-day.
