When Brandon Hagel prepared for this season, he knew the opportunities that were in front of him. Not only did he have the chance to bring a Stanley Cup championship back to Tampa but also to represent Canada in the Olympics. Last season’s 4 Nations Faceoff gave him a taste of international competition that he wanted to experience again on the biggest stage in the first Olympics with NHL players in more than a decade. A slow start to the season put that opportunity in question, but Hagel now is one of the Lightning’s hottest players and taking on an added leadership role with so many veteran players out with injuries. With several members of Hockey Canada’s Olympic staff watching Monday night’s game against the Flyers, Hagel made a super in-person case for himself, scoring two goals and setting up another in the Lightning’s 3-0 victory at Benchmark International Arena. After managing just a single assist over the first seven games, Hagel has 21 points (11 goals and 10 assists) in his last 14 the Lightning are 11-3-0 during that stretch including seven points in his last two games. Lightning coach Jon Cooper, who will be Canada’s head coach for the Olympics, sees Hagel every day. But one of his assistants, Flyers coach Rick Tocchet, was on the opposing bench Monday. In the press box above the ice where Lightning general manager Julien BriseBois (an assistant GM for Canada) watches games, there also were five members of the Hockey Canada staff, including GM Doug Armstrong and assistant coach Pete DeBoer. Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy won his fourth straight start to improve to 9-2-0 in his last 11 games. He has allowed just three goals over his last four games, a 0. 75 goals-against average. Combined with Detroit’s loss at New Jersey, the victory put the Lightning (13-7-2) first in the Atlantic Division, a remarkable feat given that they had the fewest points in the Eastern Conference little more than a month ago. They have gone 12-3-0 since. In a fast-paced game that had few scoring chances and was nearly penalty-free through the first two periods with the exception of a first-period fight between the Lightning’s Curtis Douglas and Flyers’ Nicolas Deslauriers Hagel opened the scoring with 4: 26 left in the first. Defenseman Emil Lilleberg rimmed the puck out of the Lightning zone, and Hagel collected it just outside the blue line. He skated into the offensive zone and weaved through three defenders in the high slot before dropping the puck to Nikita Kucherov at the right half-wall. Kucherov fed Lilleberg, who skated in for a slap shot from the center point that Hagel redirected into the net from in front. Hagel later set up 4 Nations Faceoff linemate Anthony Cirelli for the Lightning’s second goal, with four minutes left in the second period. Hagel took the puck off the wall behind his own blue line and backhanded it to Kucherov in the neutral zone, starting a 3-on-2 rush. From the right wing, Kucherov sent a cross-ice pass to Hagel above the left circle. Hagel saw Cirelli trailing through the middle, but with Flyers defensemen Emil Andrae and Jamie Drysdale focused on him, he waited them out. After both Philadelphia players slid to the ice trying to prevent a shot, Hagel tucked the puck behind them to Cirelli, who had an easy tip-in from just inside the paint. With 15 seconds remaining, Hagel scored into an empty net to complete a two-goal, three-point night. The Lightning were without No. 1 center Brayden Point, who already has been selected for Canada’s Olympic team; as well as top right-shot defenseman Erik Cernak, who is considered week to week and was placed on injured reserve earlier in the day.
https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/11/24/vasilevskiy-and-hagel-lead-lightning-to-home-win-over-flyers/
Vasilevskiy and Hagel lead Lightning to home win over Flyers
