The Lightning win streak jumped to seven games on Saturday with a 4-1 victory over the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden. Brandon Hagel scored twice, and Nikita Kucherov scored a team-high three points, all assists. The Lightning are now 16-7-2 this season.

A 4-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday afternoon at Madison Square Garden dropped the New York Rangers to 2-8-1 on home ice this season, a baffling stretch in which the team has scored just three goals total in those eight regulation defeats.

The victory, coming in the front end of a weekend back-to-back, was the Rangers’ third straight, and lifted them two games above NHL .500, at 13-11-2. It also improved their road record to 11-4-1. They are back in action Saturday afternoon at Madison Square Garden against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Rangers earn the first point of their Europa League campaign but will rue a missed opportunity after Nasser Djiga's error denied them victory over 10-man Sporting Braga.

Texas is razor-thin at the catcher position. Kyle Higashioka is the lead man and will likely be the Opening Day catcher. He turned in a solid season, hitting 11 home runs with 47 RBIs. However, he only played 71 games behind the dish, so the Rangers will need to acquire some depth.

A rare d-zone turnover from the Lightning led to J.T. Miller’s goal at 17:31 of the second. Adam Fox’s centering pass hit Miller’s skate and deflected into the goal. It was the second such goal (off a skate) Miller has scored against the Lightning this year.

On the other side, the Rangers have been a struggle to watch at times this year. While they have looked better at times compared to last season, they still have many glaring errors, making many people wonder if it will be another long offseason in the Big Apple.

The Texas Rangers are going to need some prospect production in 2026 to build on, and one player in particular could be a huge riser.

Miller cut the Rangers’ deficit to 2-1 when an Adam Fox pass went in off his skate late in the second period, but it never felt like they had a comeback in them. Nick Paul made sure of it by redirecting a feed from Nikita Kucherov to make it 3-1 Lightning 2:02 into the third before Jake Guentzel sealed the win with an empty-netter.