Hagel Drives Lightning Win on Long Island
Brandon Hagel didn’t just pile up a hat trick — he set the tone for how Tampa Bay won. Three goals, an assist, six shots and about 22 minutes were the headline, but the game tilted because the Lightning earned the better looks at five-on-five. Their expected goals edge — 2.66 to 1.97 — shows they created the more dangerous chances, and they even nudged the shot-attempt battle 49–47.
This wasn’t a one-man show. Jake Guentzel buried two, and both Nikita Kucherov and Max Crozier fed the attack with two assists apiece. The near-misses mattered too: there were two rings of iron, with Anthony Cirelli and Bo Horvat each denied by the frame — moments that hinted at more danger than the scoreboard alone.
For the Islanders, Ilya Sorokin stopped 21 of 25, and his goals saved above expected at -1.83 captured a night where a few leaks turned into goals. Big picture for Tampa: the home form is real; proving it consistently on the road remains the next box to check.
