The last time these teams met was four months ago to the day: Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals at Amalie Arena. The Rangers were fighting to stay alive after blowing a 2-0 series lead. New York won those two first games by a combined score of 9-4. They netted four goals in the three games that followed. The Rangers had to stave off elimination to take the Lightning back home, but Game 7 would never come. New York lost 2-1 that night in Tampa, and the Lightning advanced to their third straight Stanley Cup Final.
The drama? We’re here for it. And this game will also feature two of the league’s top-tier netminders in Russian countrymen Andrei Vasilevskiy and Igor Shesterkin.
New York finally has Tampa back in their building to launch the NHL regular season into high gear. Will revenge be on the opening night menu?
Lightning ESPN Power Rankings: 7th 2021-22 results: 51-23-8 (110 points), lost in Stanley Cup Final Stanley Cup odds: + 1,000
Dawn of a new era: Tampa has been the NHL’s gold standard in recent years, earning back-to-back Stanley Cups and nearly completing a three-peat last spring before falling in six games to the Colorado Avalanche. The Lightning couldn’t keep the entire band together, though: Ondrej Palat left in free agency and Ryan McDonagh was traded to Nashville. That leaves major voids — on and off the ice — for Tampa to fill. It also presents key opportunities for other players to get involved.
Vladislav Namestnikov — who signed a one-year, $2.5 million free agent deal in July — finished Tampa Bay’s preseason with a hat trick in the Lightning’s only exhibition victory. Brandon Hagel and Nick Paul project to earn more offensive responsibility, too. And Mikhail Sergachev, who just signed an eight-year, $68 million extension, will be spotlighted on the back end (where Zach Bogosian will be missed as he recovers from offseason shoulder surgery). It’ll be fascinating to see how the pieces fit together.
Soaring Steven Stamkos: The Lightning captain is coming off a career-best season in which he exceeded the 100-point mark for the first time ever (106). Not bad for a 32-year-old, right? So can Stamkos channel that energy into this new season? Tampa coach Jon Cooper talked about Stamkos playing with a “free spirit” and a “free mind,” which aided his overall production. There was nothing to hold him back. Tampa Bay needs more of that performance now, because the Lightning offense might be in flux for a few weeks while Anthony Cirelli continues rehabbing from his summertime shoulder surgery.
Stamkos is versatile and consistent, and picking up where he left off last season would be a major boon to get the Lightning on a roll.
Is Brayden Point back? Point injured a quadriceps muscle in Game 7 of the Lightning’s first-round playoff series against Toronto last spring. He didn’t play again until Game 1 of the Cup Final, was pulled from Game 2, and would not dress again. Point’s body wasn’t where it needed to be, and the Lightning suffered without one of their most dynamic playmakers.
Having Point back to start the season is crucial. He used the exhibition schedule to get his skating back up to speed and restore confidence post-injury by getting involved along the boards and around the net. That’s where Tampa Bay will want to see him — and often — against the Rangers.
play
3:38
Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy talks with John Buccigross about being denied a three-peat at the hands of the Avalanche and Russia producing incredible NHL goalies.
Rangers ESPN Power Rankings: 5th 2021-22 results: 52-24-6 (110 points), lost in Eastern Conference finals Stanley Cup odds: + 1,500
Back in the saddle: How much the Rangers’ conference finals loss to Tampa Bay still stings should be obvious early. It’s natural for New York to bear a chip on its shoulder after how that series unfurled. Now those emotions can resurface. What might it do for the tenor of this NHL opener?
New York was ultimately outplayed months ago by a better team. The Rangers might have overachieved by reaching that point. But it’s hard to think of New York as any sort of underdog right now. The Rangers have the talent — both established and up-and-coming — to push teams like Tampa Bay. Does that energy come through in Game 1?
Climbing Kaapo Kakko: New York appears to have a rising star ready to soar in Kakko. The 21-year-old played his final two preseason games on the Rangers’ top line with Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad, and he looked like he belonged. Like, scored three goals in two games and oozed confidence while doing it, belonged.
Does the “it’s only exhibition” caveat apply? Sure. But Kakko’s strong overall camp shouldn’t be discounted. He was equally solid playing on New York’s aptly named Kid Line in the postseason with Alexis Lafreniere and Filip Chytil. That versatility gives coach Gerard Gallant room to maneuver as the season gets going. And seeing Kakko start his climb toward a breakout season Tuesday night wouldn’t hurt the Rangers’ lineup.
Tracking Trocheck: The Rangers didn’t undergo some huge makeover between meetings with the Lightning. New York lost a few pieces from that springtime run — including Andrew Copp, Ryan Strome and Frank Vatrano — and took one big swing of their own, signing veteran forward Vincent Trocheck to a seven-year, $39.375 million deal. Trocheck’s transition to the Big Apple hasn’t been completely seamless. He’s slotted into Strome’s old spot alongside Artemi Panarin, and the new teammates’ timing hasn’t totally come together.
Trocheck is figuring out a new system for the first time in three years and also attempting to keep up with New York’s perennial leading scorer in Panarin. Given the investment the Rangers made in Trocheck, they’ll want to keep the experiment going — ideally with better results once the games count in the standings.
If opposites attract, then the Golden Knights and Kings would be a perfect match.
The Golden Knights are a veteran-laden, salary-cap-strapped squad in win-now mode despite missing the playoffs last season. The Kings are youthful, exciting and maturing before our eyes after pushing their way into a postseason berth last May and taking the Edmonton Oilers to seven games in the first round.
The Pacific Division competition will be tougher than ever with the Calgary Flames going all-in this offseason and the Vancouver Canucks pushing to regain their postseason form. What sort of preview will Vegas and L.A. offer of what this season holds for them?
Golden Knights ESPN Power Rankings: 15th 2021-22 results: 43-31-8 (94 points), missed playoffs Stanley Cup odds: + 1,800
All eyes on Eichel: The Golden Knights haven’t seen the best of Jack Eichel yet. Vegas acquired Eichel via trade from the Buffalo Sabres in November, and following neck surgery later that month, the 25-year-old made his black-and-gold debut in February. Eichel had a respectable end to the season with 14 goals and 25 points in 34 games, but it wasn’t enough to single-handedly save Vegas from floundering to the finish.
What impact can a healthy offseason have on Eichel in Year 2? He already put together a terrific preseason performance, registering nine points in three games. Vegas has to hope that’s a sign of things to come. And Eichel, who has never played in a postseason game, should be thinking the same.
Newbie in net: Vegas wasn’t expecting incumbent starting goaltender Robin Lehner to require hip surgery that would sideline him the entire season. But them’s the breaks. The question then became whether veteran Laurent Brossoit or up-and-comer Logan Thompson would be Lehner’s replacement.
Well, Brossoit had hip surgery, too, leaving coach Bruce Cassidy to shuffle between Thompson and Adin Hill. It has been Thompson’s net to lose. The 25-year-old will take what he learned from backing up Lehner last season (when he went 10-5-3 with a .914 save percentage and 2.68 goals-against average) and apply it to the nightly gig. Who knows what might happen when Brossoit is back, but for now the spotlight rests solely on Thompson.
Betting on Bruce: Speaking of newbies, Cassidy is one, too. He came on board in the offseason after being fired by Boston, and is the third coach these Golden Knights have had since their inception in 2017-18. What sort of tricks does Cassidy have up his sleeve to steer Vegas back toward the playoffs? The Golden Knights’ salary cap issues have been well documented, and they lost the likes of Max Pacioretty and Evgenii Dadonov because of them. But there is still a solid well of talent in Vegas’ ranks. It’s on Cassidy to maximize what’s available.
That will be especially challenging on the defensive side for Vegas, where over-30s Alex Pietrangelo and Alec Martinez, plus Shea Theodore (27), highlight the team’s back-end core. Vegas has no time to waste turning things around, putting pressure on Cassidy from Game 1.
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1:52
Greg Wyshynski takes fans through the chaos of the NHL offseason, which had everything from blockbuster trades to record extensions.
Kings ESPN Power Rankings: 18th 2021-22 results: 44-27-11 (99 points), lost in first round Stanley Cup odds: + 2,500
Fiala fever: The Kings had their struggles scoring goals last season, averaging just 2.87 per game through top-heavy contributions from mostly Adrian Kempe (35 goals), Phillip Danault (27), Viktor Arvidsson (20) and Anze Kopitar (19). How does a team improve its depth in that department? Trades, baby.
Los Angeles acquired Kevin Fiala from the Minnesota Wild in June and immediately signed the forward — fresh off a 33-goal season — to a seven-year, $55 million contract. Fiala has been a consistent threat for much of his career and should be a firecracker for the Kings up front. He fit in well during the preseason, and showed sparks of chemistry, especially with Kempe. Fiala will be counted on even more when there’s real points up for grabs.
Growing their games: Los Angeles has been lauded for its prospect depth and fine collection of young talent. Mikey Anderson and Sean Durzi are the latter. Both blueliners project to play important roles for L.A. defensively this season after showing terrific growth and maturation throughout the past year.
Anderson is an effective stay-at-home defender who has been a great complement to Drew Doughty on the Kings’ top pairing. Durzi returned later in the preseason following offseason shoulder surgery, and has earned time between the Kings’ second and third units. He should also fill a sizable slot on L.A.’s power play after excelling there last season. The Kings have long valued a hard-hitting, physical defense, and both Anderson and Durzi can bring that with a side of skill and creativity. And at only 23 years old, these skaters have just begun to show off their full potential.
Keep up with Quick:Jonathan Quick has been counted out before. The 36-year-old goaltender continues proving the doubters wrong. Quick helped carry Los Angeles into the playoffs last season with a 12-3-3 push to the finish. Once there, the veteran gave his club every chance to get past Edmonton in the first round, with a .904 save percentage over seven games.
What more does Quick have in the tank this season? Only a few players remain for Los Angeles from their Cup-winning teams in 2012 and 2014. Quick was an integral part of those runs and has maintained a high level of play since, even while Los Angeles has undergone appreciable turnover. If the Kings intend to challenge for a top-three spot in the Pacific, they’ll need the right goalie to rely on. Quick can quickly show he’s still up for the job.
Why he could win: Olson is a late replacement for Acuna as the home team’s representative at this year’s Derby. Apart from being the Braves’ first baseman, however, Olson also was born in Atlanta and grew up a Braves fan, giving him some extra motivation. The left-handed slugger led the majors in home runs in 2023 — his 54 round-trippers that season also set a franchise record — and he remains among the best in the game when it comes to exit velo and hard-hit rate.
Why he might not: The home-field advantage can also be a detriment if a player gets too hyped up in the first round. See Julio Rodriguez in Seattle in 2023, when he had a monster first round, with 41 home runs, but then tired out in the second round.
2025 home runs: 36 | Longest: 440 feet
Why he could win: It’s the season of Cal! The Mariners’ catcher is having one of the greatest slugging first halves in MLB history, as he’s been crushing mistakes all season . His easy raw power might be tailor-made for the Derby — he ranks in the 87th percentile in average exit velocity and delivers the ball, on average, at the optimal home run launch angle of 23 degrees. His calm demeanor might also be perfect for the contest as he won’t get too amped up.
Why he might not: He’s a catcher — and one who has carried a heavy workload, playing in all but one game this season. This contest is as much about stamina as anything, and whether Raleigh can carry his power through three rounds would be a concern. No catcher has ever won the Derby, with only Ivan Rodriguez back in 2005 even reaching the finals.
2025 home runs: 24 | Longest: 451 feet
Why he could win: He’s big, he’s strong, he’s young, he’s awesome, he might or might not be able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. This is the perfect opportunity for Wood to show his talent on the national stage, and he wouldn’t be the first young player to star in the Derby. He ranks in the 97th percentile in average exit velocity and 99th percentile in hard-hit rate, so he can still muscle the ball out in BP even if he slightly mishits it. His long arms might be viewed as a detriment, but remember the similarly tall Aaron Judge won in 2017.
Why he might not: His natural swing isn’t a pure uppercut — he has a pretty low average launch angle of just 6.2 degrees — so we’ll see how that plays in a rapid-fire session. In real games, his power is primarily to the opposite field, but in a Home Run Derby you can get more cheapies pulling the ball down the line.
2025 home runs: 20 | Longest: 479 feet
Why he could win: Buxton’s raw power remains as impressive as nearly any hitter in the game. He crushed a 479-foot home run earlier this season and has four others of at least 425 feet. Indeed, his “no doubter” percentage — home runs that would be out of all 30 parks based on distance — is 75%, the highest in the majors among players with more than a dozen home runs. His bat speed ranks in the 89th percentile. In other words, two tools that could translate to a BP lightning show.
Why he might not: Buxton is 31 and the Home Run Derby feels a little more like a younger man’s competition. Teoscar Hernandez did win last year at age 31, but before that, the last winner older than 29 was David Ortiz in 2010, and that was under much different rules than are used now.
2025 home runs: 16 | Longest: 463 feet
Why he could win: If you drew up a short list of players everyone wants to see in the Home Run Derby, Cruz would be near the top. He has the hardest-hit ball of the 2025 season, and the hardest ever tracked by Statcast, a 432-foot missile of a home run with an exit velocity of 122.9 mph. He also crushed a 463-foot home run in Anaheim that soared way beyond the trees in center field. With his elite bat speed — 100th percentile — Cruz has the ability to awe the crowd with a potentially all-time performance.
Why he might not: Like all first-time contestants, can he stay within himself and not get too caught up in the moment? He has a long swing, which will result in some huge blasts, but might not be the most efficient for a contest like this one, where the more swings a hitter can get in before the clock expires, the better.
2025 home runs: 23 | Longest: 425 feet
Why he could win: Although Caminero was one of the most hyped prospects entering 2024, everyone kind of forgot about him heading into this season since he didn’t immediately rip apart the majors as a rookie. In his first full season, however, he has showed off his big-time raw power — giving him a chance to become just the third player to reach 40 home runs in his age-21 season. He has perhaps the quickest bat in the majors, ranking in the 100th percentile in bat speed, and his top exit velocity ranks in the top 15. That could translate to a barrage of home runs.
Why he might not: In game action, Caminero does hit the ball on the ground quite often — in fact, he’s on pace to break Jim Rice’s record for double plays grounded into in a season. If he gets out of rhythm, that could lead to a lot of low line drives during the Derby instead of fly balls that clear the fences.
2025 home runs: 19 | Longest: 440 feet
Why he could win: The Athletics slugger has been one of the top power hitters in the majors for three seasons now and is on his way to a third straight 30-homer season. Rooker has plus bat speed and raw power, but his biggest strength is an optimal average launch angle (19 degrees in 2024, 15 degrees this season) that translates to home runs in game action. That natural swing could be picture perfect for the Home Run Derby. He also wasn’t shy about saying he wanted to participate — and maybe that bodes well for his chances.
Why he might not: Rooker might not have quite the same raw power as some of the other competitors, as he has just one home run longer than 425 feet in 2025. But that’s a little nitpicky, as 11 of his home runs have still gone 400-plus feet. He competed in the college home run derby in Omaha while at Mississippi State in 2016 and finished fourth.
2025 home runs: 17 | Longest: 442 feet
Why he could win: Chisholm might not be the most obvious name to participate, given his career high of 24 home runs, but he has belted 17 already in 2025 in his first 61 games after missing some time with an injury. He ranks among the MLB leaders in a couple of home run-related categories, ranking in the 96th percentile in expected slugging percentage and 98th percentile in barrel rate. His raw power might not match that of the other participants, but he’s a dead-pull hitter who has increased his launch angle this season, which might translate well to the Derby, even if he won’t be the guy hitting the longest home runs.
Why he might not: Most of the guys who have won this have been big, powerful sluggers. Chisholm is listed at 5-foot-11, 184 pounds, and you have to go back to Miguel Tejada in 2004 to find the last player under 6 foot to win.
CINCINNATI — Cincinnati Reds right fielder Jake Fraley was activated from the 10-day injured list on Saturday.
He had injured his right shoulder while trying to make a diving catch June 23 against the New York Yankees.
An MRI revealed a partially torn labrum that will eventually require surgery. Fraley received a cortisone shot and will try to play through it for the rest of the season.