NEW YORK (Interstat) — The Tampa Bay Lightning will visit the New York Rangers on Thursday at Madison Square Garden in a National Hockey League game. Both teams enter the matchup with 0-0 records. Tampa Bay is looking to bounce back from its most recent result, a 2-1 loss to the Montreal Canadiens on May 3. The Rangers’ most recent result was a 4-2 win at the Lightning on April 15.

The Lightning will continue their early schedule after Thursday with a home game against the Washington Capitals on Oct. 3. Tampa Bay then hosts the Philadelphia Flyers on Oct. 5 and the Minnesota Wild on Oct. 8. A road trip follows, beginning with a visit to the New York Islanders on Oct. 10. Tampa Bay will return to Madison Square Garden to face the Rangers on Oct. 13. The Lightning then host the Seattle Kraken on Oct. 15 and the Vancouver Canucks on Oct. 17 before road games at the Vegas Golden Knights on Oct. 20, the Colorado Avalanche on Oct. 23 and the Utah Mammoth on Oct. 24.

After Thursday, the Rangers will visit the Detroit Red Wings on Oct. 2 before hosting the Utah Mammoth on Oct. 4 and the New York Islanders on Oct. 6. New York then visits the Washington Capitals on Oct. 9. The Rangers host Tampa Bay on Oct. 13, then travel to the New Jersey Devils on Oct. 15 and the Columbus Blue Jackets on Oct. 17. New York returns home to face the Anaheim Ducks on Oct. 19. The Rangers close the listed stretch with road games at the Toronto Maple Leafs on Oct. 22 and the Ottawa Senators on Oct. 24.

The matchup marks the first meeting of the season between Tampa Bay and New York. The teams are scheduled to meet again at Madison Square Garden on Oct. 13, giving the Rangers and Lightning a quick second look at each other. Tampa Bay will play three of its first five listed games at home, while New York will play two of its first three listed games at home. Tampa Bay’s listed 10-game stretch includes five home games and five road games. New York’s listed stretch includes four home games and six road games. The Rangers will also host the Islanders and the Ducks during their early home stretch, while the Lightning will host Washington, Philadelphia, Minnesota, Seattle and Vancouver during the listed schedule.

Interstat’s game simulator is projecting a final score of Tampa Bay 3, New York Rangers 2.