TAMPA, Fla. — The lineup the Lightning fielded on Wednesday night against the Rangers at Benchmark International Arena certainly wasn’t whole.

Missing several key players due to injury — including defensemen Victor Hedman and Ryan McDonagh, as well as center Anthony Cirelli — forced the Lightning to call up reinforcements from AHL Syracuse.

Lightning coach Jon Cooper walked into his morning skate availability Wednesday telling reporters not to ask any lineup questions because he didn’t have a good grasp of who would be available come game time.

Regardless of who was in the lineup, it was a forgettable night for the Lightning, who allowed goals on the Rangers’ first four shots in an eventual 7-3 loss. Their seven goals allowed were a season high; the Lightning hadn’t allowed more than five since the first two games of the season.

After their season-high five-game winning streak, the Lightning are 2-2-0 in their last four heading into Saturday’s first regular-season meeting with the Panthers in Sunrise.

Goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy was pulled after allowing five goals on just 13 shots through two periods. That marked the first time Vasilevskiy was removed from a game in more than a year. He was pulled just once last season, midway through the second period of a 5-2 loss at Toronto on Oct. 21, 2024, after allowing four goals on 10 shots.

Six regulars didn’t play due to injury: Hedman, McDonagh, Cirelli, center Dominic James and forward Pontus Holmberg, and Lightning forward Brandon Hagel exited early in the game.

Another big injury loss

The Lightning lost Hagel, who entered the night with seven goals in his past seven games, just 7:08 into the game after he took a hard hit to the head from Rangers defenseman Carson Soucy while taking the puck toward the net.

Hagel was making a move through traffic with the puck on his stick when Soucy poke-checked it away and raised his left forearm as Hagel came through, a hit that sent Hagel to the ground and fueled a 3-on-2 rush the other way that ended with Alexis Lafreniere’s goal that put New York up 3-1.

Hagel was visibly frustrated by the hit — and the lack of a call — slamming his stick twice as he made his way off the ice, along the bench and down the tunnel. Hagel played just three shifts and had 2:24 of ice time.

It marked the third time since May that a hit to the head knocked Hagel out of the game. He was elbowed by Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad in last season’s playoffs, and Florida forward A.J. Greer sucker punched him during the preseason.

Rough night for Vasilevskiy

Vasilevskiy was playing his best hockey of the season entering Wednesday, going 5-1-0 with a 2.00 goals-against average and .923 save percentage in his last six starts. But it was clear early on that Wednesday would be a battle.

He was the victim of a couple of tough bounces early. The Rangers’ first goal, which occurred 69 seconds into the game on the power play after Yanni Gourde took a cross-checking penalty, came after Erik Cernak blocked Adam Fox’s shot attempt from the left point, the puck went off the end boards and right to Will Cuylle along the left post.

Then Nikita Kucherov’s neutral-zone turnover fueled a 2-on-1 rush the other way, and a pass to the net went off Cernak’s skate and into the net to give the Rangers a 2-0 lead 3:31 into the game, prompting Cooper to call a rare first-period timeout.

Trailing by a goal late in the second period, Vasilevskiy lost his footing coming across the crease and fell, unable to make a play on Vincent Trocheck’s goal with 1:41 left in the period that gave New York a 5-3 lead.

Vasilevskiy watched the third from the Lightning bench, replaced by backup Jonas Johansson.

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