Brayden Point netted his fourth career hat trick during a career-high six-point night as the Tampa Bay Lightning roared back in the third period against the visiting New York Rangers, topping the visitors 6-3 on Thursday night.
Point produced three goals and three assists as the Lightning stormed back from a 3-2 third-period deficit with four unanswered goals.
Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov scored an empty-net goal and posted four assists. Steven Stamkos tallied the go-ahead power-play goal. Anthony Duclair also scored, while Victor Hedman managed two helpers.
The Lightning improved to 5-2-1 in their past eight games and finished 1-2-0 against the Rangers.
New York received a goal and an assist from Jack Roslovic while Artemi Panarin and Braden Schneider also tallied, but the Rangers had their three-game winning streak end.
In a battle of Vezina Trophy winning goaltenders, 2019 winner Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 25 shots for his 23rd win, while 2022 winner Igor Shesterkin made 22 saves.
After Vincent Trocheck skated down the right side on an odd-man rush, sliced through the slot and fed a pass across to the winger, Panarin whistled in his 36th goal at 13:58.
Less than three minutes later, Roslovic’s hustle carrying the puck in front of the Lightning goal led to his pass back to Mika Zibanejad, who fed Schneider for his fourth tally and a 2-0 lead.
Roslovic earned the secondary assist, his first point since being acquired from the Columbus Blue Jackets for a conditional fourth-round pick in 2026.
Point’s defensive and offensive play stood out in the second period and helped the Lightning get on the board.
He stole the puck just outside his club’s offensive zone then sent a quick pass to Kucherov, who returned the feed and watched Point roof his 34th marker at 2:41 to cut the deficit in half.
That goal was the first allowed by Shesterkin since losing at home 4-2 against the Florida Panthers on March 4.
After Shesterkin’s point-blank stuff of Point, Duclair tied it at 2-all with his second goal in two games with Tampa Bay — his 18th overall — at 18:43.
Early in the third, Roslovic took a cross-ice pass and one-timed his seventh goal at 1:48 to restore the Rangers’ lead, but Point cleverly slipped in another just under two minutes later.
Stamkos notched his 25th on a blind pass from Point before Point added his 36th at 14:48 for a 5-3 lead.
Kucherov scored his 39th into an empty net as the Lightning tallied three times in 3:37.
–Field Level Media
