Artemi Panarin recorded his sixth career hat trick, Vincent Trocheck notched a goal and three assists and the New York Rangers whipped the host Tampa Bay Lightning 5-1 on Saturday night. In tying his career high with four points, Trocheck had helpers on two of Panarin's goals and Chris Kreider's marker. Trocheck's tally marked his third game-winner of the season for the Rangers, who went 9-5-0 in December. New York's Alexis Lafreniere recorded two assists, while goaltender Igor Shesterkin had 34 saves and recorded his fifth consecutive win. As the NHL's first club to reach 25 wins, the Eastern Conference-leading Rangers moved to 6-0-0 in the second game of a back-to-back set and 9-1-0 after a loss. Tampa Bay's Nikita Kucherov produced his team-high 25th goal. Goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 15 shots in his ninth straight start. Just 1:51 into the game, the Lightning's Victor Hedman gambled and lunged to thwart a two-on-one breakaway, but Trocheck beat the defenseman to the puck. Skating in from the left, Panarin made it 1-0 by finishing the feed from Trocheck and scoring in his fourth straight game. Trocheck continued his strong start almost six minutes later when he found a rebound off a shot by Jacob Trouba and jammed it in. His ninth goal, for the 2-0 lead, came at 7:36 with Lafreniere registering his secondary assist. In a wild play through Shesterkin's crease, Tampa Bay's Michael Eyssimont eventually scored on a wraparound at 14:55 of the first. However, the Rangers challenged for goaltender interference against Tanner Jeannot, and the officials agreed after review, with their decision erasing the tally. The visitors logged only five shots in the second period, and Vasilevskiy stopped one of their best efforts — a breakaway attempt by former Tampa Bay forward Barclay Goodrow at 8:17 — to keep the deficit at two. Late in the frame on the Lightning's third power play, Kucherov put Tampa Bay on the board at 17:39 off a pass from Steven Stamkos. A mere 51 seconds later, the Rangers answered after Blake Wheeler's long aerial pass found Trocheck on a rush. Trocheck slipped a cross-ice pass over to Kreider for the speedy forward's 18th goal to restore the two-tally margin. In the third, Panarin put the game away when he scored twice, first at 11:15 and then a power-play goal, his 23rd overall, at 15:26 for the final margin and his hat trick. Mike Zibanejad assisted on the final goal, extending his career-best point streak to 10 games. —Field Level Media
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