What to make of Lightning's goaltender call-up ahead of Rangers game

Sports admin October 13, 2026 0 Comments

What to make of Lightning’s goaltender call-up ahead of Rangers game

NEW YORK – The morning before the Lightning completed their brief two-game trip to New York with a rematch against the Rangers at Madison Square Garden, the team summoned goaltender Mads Sogaard from AHL Syracuse.

Sogaard was recalled in case backup Dennis Hildeby, who is dealing with an undisclosed physical issue, is unable to dress for the game.

Regardless, Andrei Vasilevskiy was always slated to start.

The Lightning (4-1-0) had an optional skate Tuesday morning, and Hildeby was a participant – which should serve as an indication that whatever ailment he’s dealing with isn’t major – along with Sogaard and emergency backup goaltender Kyle Konin.

Hildeby hasn’t missed any ice time since he made his only appearance of the season on Thursday, a strong 34-save effort in a 3-2 win over Minnesota.

At the very least, Sogaard receives a valuable work day with Lightning goaltending coach Frantz Jean. Sogaard posted an impressive 1.73 goals-against average and a .937 save percentage in three games with Syracuse this season. He last played Saturday, stopping 22 of 25 shots against Belleville.

Despite Tuesday’s skate being optional, several Lightning veterans took the ice beforehand dressed in track suits to get in an informal skate. The practice, called “open ice,” is one we’ve seen several times on optional days during the first two weeks of the season.

Twelve days ago, the Lightning opened the season in New York with a 5-1 loss to the Rangers after which coach Jon Cooper questioned their pushback. Since then, Tampa Bay has won four straight, including Saturday’s road win over the Islanders. In each of those games, the Lightning took an early lead and were able to hold off their opponent late.

“I would say there’s been growth,” Cooper said. “You don’t want to sit and say Game 1 of 84, the season hinges on that, but you look back now, I’m maybe not as upset otherwise that it happened. But what I like is that the team has responded, and that’s a good sign to see.”

The Lightning will look to build on the 5-3 win over the Islanders, in which they blew a two-goal lead and needed a late goal by Brandon Hagel and a Hagel empty-netter to take two points out of Long Island.

“I think that was a good kind of wake-up call for us, and since then I think we played 10 straight periods where we played really well,” Lightning captain Victor Hedman said. “Maybe we let up a little bit in the second (period Saturday), but we played really good defensively, and that’s the bottom line in what we have to do.”

The Rangers opened with a 5-2-0 record despite losing goaltender Igor Shesterkin to a season-ending knee injury Oct. 9 against the Capitals.

“They’ve kind of been rolling,” Hedman said. “They had a big win (Sunday over Vancouver), so we know they’re gonna keep going, because you’re looking at their goalie going down for the year. I think that kind of gives them something to prove as well. So we’re gonna play a hungry team (Tuesday), that’s for sure.”

After allowing four goals on 24 shots Oct. 1 against the Rangers, Vasilevskiy has recorded with a .915 save percentage over his past three games, all wins, stopping 54 of 59 shots.

Tuesday’s lineup will look similar to the past four games, with the Lightning deploying an 11-forward, seven-defenseman look. The one change will be forward Jeff Viel returning as a fourth-line wing, replacing Scott Sabourin.

Defenseman Emil Lilleberg, who has missed the past three games due to injury, was an option to play Tuesday but won’t be in the lineup, Cooper said.

Here’s the Lightning’s projected lineup against the Rangers:

Forwards

Gage Goncalves-Brayden Point-Nikita Kucherov

Brandon Hagel-Anthony Cirelli-Jake Guentzel

Ilya Mikheyev-Zemgus Girgensons-Pontus Holmberg

Jeff Viel-Conor Geekie

Defensemen

JJ Moser-John Carlson

Ryan McDonagh-Erik Cernak

Victor Hedman-Max Crozier

Charle-Edoaurd D’Astous