Alexis Lafreniere Scores Twice as Rangers End Lightning's 4-Game Win Streak, 4-1, at Madison Square Garden

Alexis Lafreniere scored twice in the first period and the New York Rangers beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-1 at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night, ending Tampa Bay's four-game winning streak. The Lightning (4-2-0) have now lost both of their games this season in the same building, by a combined 9-2, and coach Jon Cooper did not mince words about the second one.

"Listen, our team has played extremely well for the most part since the last time we were here," Cooper said, according to NHL.com. "I don't know what it is, but it was dreadful tonight. The execution, I couldn't believe it."

Zemgus Girgensons scored Tampa Bay's only goal, and Andrei Vasilevskiy made 19 saves. Dylan Garand stopped 25 shots for New York in his second straight start since Igor Shesterkin's season-ending injury.

Lafreniere strikes early

Lafreniere needed just 62 seconds to put the Rangers ahead. Tye Kartye won the puck from Victor Hedman on the forecheck, chased it down after it was pushed behind the net and sent a pass to the front that slipped past J.T. Miller to Lafreniere in the slot.

"I knew they were both there so I kind of just tried to get it there," Kartye said. "Luckily, it went through J.T. and right to 'Laf,' but good job being both on the inside."

Kartye and Lafreniere connected again at 12:47 of the first. Kartye flipped a stretch pass out of the Rangers' zone, and Lafreniere got behind Hedman and Anthony Cirelli, caught the puck in stride and scored on the breakaway for a 2-0 lead.

Lafreniere has goals in four straight games, a career best, and seven goals during that streak, which began with a hat trick against the New York Islanders on Oct. 6. He has a six-game point streak (seven goals, three assists) and leads the Rangers in goals. The 25-year-old, the first pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, set his career high with 28 goals in 2023-24. Kartye, who set up both goals Tuesday, scored twice himself in New York's previous game, a 6-2 home win over the Vancouver Canucks, according to the AP.

"Our team is playing well," Lafreniere said. "All four lines are playing good. We're playing a complete team game."

Girgensons answers, Rangers pull away

Tampa Bay got one back at 17:26 of the first. Girgensons kept the puck on a 2-on-1 rush with Ilya Mikheyev on his left and beat Garand over the left shoulder for his first goal of the season, cutting the deficit to 2-1.

That was as close as the Lightning got. Will Cuylle redirected a point shot from Sean Durzi from between the hash marks at 18:26 of the second period to make it 3-1, his third goal of the season.

With Vasilevskiy pulled for an extra attacker late in the third and Tampa Bay on the power play, Mika Zibanejad stole the puck from Brayden Point and scored a short-handed empty-net goal at 17:16. It was Zibanejad's 14th career short-handed goal with New York, tying Don Maloney for third in franchise history behind Mark Messier (23) and Adam Graves (16).

"They're coming in and they're executing and winning battles and doing those things, and for two games we haven't," Cooper said. "It turns out to be against the same team. But give the Rangers credit, they deserved both games."

Two bad nights in New York

The Lightning opened the season with a 5-1 loss at Madison Square Garden on Oct. 1, then won four straight before returning to Manhattan. That streak included wins over the Washington Capitals, the Philadelphia Flyers, the Minnesota Wild and the New York Islanders, and Cooper said he could not be too hard on his team because of it.

"Like I said, I can't be too hard on them because I've watched them play really well for the last four games, and some legit teams we beat, but tonight was just an easy one for them," Cooper said. "I guess sometimes that happens, but a little frustrating that we've come in here twice (in 13 days) and we've been outscored 9-2."

Vasilevskiy faced only 22 shots, but New York's top line created the chances that mattered. Hedman lost the puck to Kartye on the forecheck before the first goal, and Lafreniere got behind him and Cirelli for the second.

Garand fills in for Shesterkin

Garand, 24, earned his second straight win since Shesterkin was injured last Friday at Washington and ruled out for the season the next day with a lower-body injury. The Madison Square Garden crowd chanted his first name late in the game after he made several key saves in the third period.

"That felt really good," Garand said. "Honestly it kind of felt a little weird. It's typically reserved for 'Shesty.' It was a little weird in that sense, but it felt so good."

Garand improved to 5-0-1 in his career and matched Shesterkin and Cam Talbot for the fewest starts by a goaltender to reach five career wins with the Rangers, according to the NHL.

Rangers perfect at home

New York improved to 6-2-0 overall and 5-0-0 at the Garden, with all five home wins coming in regulation. It is only the third time the Rangers have won their first five home games of a season, according to the AP, after six straight in 1983-84 and eight in a row to open 1990-91, the last time they won at least five straight at home to start a season. They have outscored opponents 24-8 in those five games, the New York Post reported.

"I'll point to our leadership," Rangers coach Mike Sullivan said. "I think they've done a great job at just first and foremost leading by example, and just leading the charge on what it takes to win and establish ourselves at home."

Lightning goaltending note

Mads Sogaard dressed as Tampa Bay's backup goaltender after being recalled from Syracuse of the American Hockey League on Tuesday. Dennis Hildeby, who made 34 saves in the Lightning's 3-2 win over the Wild on Oct. 8, was scratched.

What's next

The Lightning return home to host the Seattle Kraken on Thursday, Oct. 15. The Rangers play at the New Jersey Devils on Thursday before visiting Columbus on Saturday.