The Lightning’s most complete line right now has quickly become the one built around Jake Guentzel, Brandon Hagel and Anthony Cirelli - and coach Jon Cooper likes more than just the production.
He likes the way they fit. He likes the way they think the game. And he likes the way they spend time together away from the rink, too.
“The three of them are like a little rat pack,” Cooper said after Monday’s practice at UBS Arena. “You kind of know they get together, they talk about things. I think there’s a good feel for each other.”
That chemistry has shown up on the ice. The trio scored three times in Tampa Bay’s 5-3 win over the Islanders on Saturday night, and over the past two games it has outscored the opposing line 4-1. The first three games weren’t perfect - the group went scoreless even while out-attempting opponents 21-7 - but the underlying numbers have stayed strong, and the results are starting to follow.
Tampa Bay will try to keep that momentum rolling Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden, where the Lightning face the Rangers again 12 days after their season-opening flop in Manhattan. The Lightning are 4-1-0 and carrying a four-game winning streak into the rematch.
A lot has changed since that opener. The Lightning have settled into an effective all-around identity, even while leaning on 11-forward, 7-defensemen lineups. And the Hagel-Cirelli pairing, with Guentzel dropped in beside them, has become the team’s anchor line.
Cooper has no issue mixing and matching his lines, but from the start of the season, the plan was clear: put Guentzel with Hagel and Cirelli, then build from there.
“He’s good at everything,” Hagel said of Guentzel. “He’s a really, really, really smart player. And when you add a smart player to any line, good things are going to happen and, lucky enough for us, we get to play with him.”
The fit has been obvious in the numbers, too. The line is plus-3 through five games, has outshot opponents 35-15 and owns a 67.7% Corsi For Percentage, having out-attempted its opponents 65-34. The rest of the team at 5-on-5 sits at 51.3.
Guentzel’s presence gives Tampa Bay something it wanted from that group: a proven finisher. He spent much of his first two seasons with the Lightning on a top line with Brayden Point and Nikita Kucherov, and Cooper said he wanted to place him with Hagel and Cirelli to give the unit a true scoring threat.
Guentzel averaged nearly 40 goals over his two seasons in Tampa Bay and had 28 goals at 5-on-5 last year.
“I’m not saying ‘Tony’ and ‘Hags’ can’t, but ‘Guentz’ is an elite finisher,” Cooper said. “So we kind of have a really good blend of guys that check a lot of boxes in their line.”
If there’s one player benefiting most from the setup, it may be Hagel. He entered Monday leading the NHL in shot attempts per 60 minutes at 27.48, according to Natural Stat Trick, ahead of Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon at 25.89 and Boston’s David Pastrnak at 24.34.
After his hat trick Saturday, Hagel leads the Lightning with four goals, including two at 5-on-5.
“I don’t know,” Hagel said. “I believe my game’s in a good spot early, and when you’re kind of playing good, that’s where these types of things kind of happen.
I’m just going out there trying to score, honestly, play the right way, play hard, do what I’m asked of, and if the chances come, they come. And lucky enough, they’re coming for me right now.”
Even with the production, Cooper wants to see a little more selfishness from the trio. Not in a bad way - just more of a shooter’s edge.
“That stat was a pleasant surprise for Cooper, because he said the one thing he’d like to see more of from the line of Hagel, Cirelli and Guentzel is them taking their own shots.”
“It’s hard to sit here and say with ‘Hags,’ can he be more aggressive, because he’s already really aggressive,” Cooper said. “I think ‘Hags’ is just being ‘Hags,’ but the shooter mentality is something he needs, because I think he defers.
“I tell that line all the time, ‘You guys are too nice to each other. You’re being too friendly.
Be a little mean. Shoot the puck.’
They’re too friendly too each other.”
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