The Lightning quench the Devils

Hagel's second-period hat trick buries New Jersey

Three goals, one period

Qualification night in Newark carried the Gauntlet's only stakes: lose and your candle goes dark. The New Jersey Devils had carried their flame to the semifinals last time before the Buffalo Sabres snuffed it. The Tampa Bay Lightning had gone cold in the round of 16 against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Then Brandon Hagel took the second period and made it his own. He hit a slap shot at 9:27, a snap shot at 13:01 and another snap shot at 15:53. That was three goals in a single period.

Devils strike first

Jack Hughes opened the scoring with a wrist shot at 11:02 of the first. Brayden Point answered on the power play 3:07 later, with Timo Meier in the box for boarding. Meier then snapped the Devils ahead at 0:51 of the second. That lead lasted 6:43. Defenseman Victor Hedman wristed in the equalizer, and Tampa Bay ran away from there. After Hagel's three, Hedman ripped a slap shot at 17:28 that stood as the winner. Anthony Cirelli assisted on four of the goals.

The Lightning burn on

New Jersey came back at them. Nathan Bastian scored at 2:56 of the third, and Meier blasted a power-play slap shot at 5:24. Jake Guentzel answered on the power play just 0:24 later. J.J. Moser then scored short-handed at 9:19 with a wrist shot. Stefan Noesen added a power-play goal at 12:45, but Jonas Johansson's 30 saves held. The Devils' flame was doused, and 28 candles still burn.