NEW YORK (Interstat) — Alexis Lafreniere scored twice, Dylan Garand made 25 saves and the New York Rangers beat the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning 4-1 on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden, extending their home winning streak to five games and snapping Tampa Bay’s four-game run. Will Cuylle and Mika Zibanejad also scored for the Rangers, who improved to 6-2-0. The Lightning fell to 4-2-0. New York controlled much of the early pace and never trailed after Lafreniere opened the scoring.

The Rangers struck first at 1:02 of the opening period when Lafreniere beat Andrei Vasilevskiy with a wrist shot. Tye Kartye and Adam Fox picked up assists. Lafreniere added his second goal of the period at 12:47, again using a wrist shot, with Kartye and J.T. Miller assisting. The two-goal burst gave New York a 2-0 lead and forced Tampa Bay to chase the game. Tampa Bay answered late in the first when Zemgus Girgensons scored on a wrist shot at 17:26. Pontus Holmberg and Victor Hedman assisted on the goal that cut the Rangers’ lead to 2-1 after the first period.

New York regained a two-goal cushion in the second period when Cuylle tipped a shot past Vasilevskiy at 16:26. Sean Durzi and Marcus Pettersson assisted. The Rangers’ forecheck created repeated pressure in the period, and Garand protected the lead with saves on Brayden Point, Anthony Cirelli, Pontus Holmberg and J.J. Moser. Tampa Bay had several chances to pull closer, but Garand was steady in net and New York’s defense blocked shots in front of him. Adam Fox, Vladislav Gavrikov and Marcus Pettersson were active in clearing lanes and limiting second chances.

The Lightning pressed in the third period, but Garand denied Nikita Kucherov, Jake Guentzel, Point and John Carlson. New York sealed the win at 11:16 of the third when Zibanejad scored an unassisted wrist shot. The goal made it 4-1 and took away Tampa Bay’s momentum. The Rangers finished with a strong defensive third period and limited quality looks around their net. New York also killed off its penalties and kept Tampa Bay’s power play off the scoreboard.

Lafreniere led the Rangers with two goals and four shots on goal. Garand earned the win with 25 saves on 26 shots. J.T. Miller had one assist and one shot. Cuylle scored once and recorded four shots. Marcus Pettersson added one assist, one shot and two hits. Tye Kartye finished with two assists, one shot, two penalty minutes and one hit. Zibanejad scored once, put three shots on net and delivered two hits. Zemgus Girgensons scored Tampa Bay’s lone goal on two shots. Adam Fox added one assist, one shot, two penalty minutes and four hits. Sean Durzi contributed one assist and two penalty minutes.

The game had a physical edge throughout. Matt Rempe and Jeff Viel fought in the first period, with both receiving fighting majors. Tampa Bay’s John Carlson was called for slashing, and Viel was whistled for hooking. New York’s Adam Fox received a holding penalty. In the second period, Tampa Bay’s Erik Cernak was called for tripping, and New York’s Braden Schneider was sent off for hooking. The third period included a cross-checking penalty on Durzi, a slashing call on Cirelli and an interference penalty on Kartye. Neither team converted on the power play.

Lafreniere entered the game having scored in three of New York’s previous four games, including a three-goal performance earlier this season. His latest two-goal effort helped the Rangers win their fifth straight home game. Tampa Bay had won four in a row since an earlier loss to New York in the Rangers’ home opener. The Lightning had not lost since that meeting and had been one of the early surprises in the NHL. The Rangers, meanwhile, continued their strong start and moved to 6-2-0. New York had recent wins over Vancouver, the Islanders, Utah and Detroit, while Tampa Bay had beaten Washington, Philadelphia, Minnesota and the Islanders during its streak.

The announced attendance at Madison Square Garden was 17,076. The Rangers improved to 6-2-0 and the Lightning dropped to 4-2-0. New York’s win continued its home success and handed Tampa Bay its first defeat in more than a week. The Lightning will next host Seattle, while the Rangers will visit New Jersey. Tampa Bay will also host Vancouver before a road trip to Vegas, Colorado and Utah. New York will visit Columbus before hosting Anaheim and then traveling to Toronto and Ottawa.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of N.Y. Rangers 4, Tampa Bay 3. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Tampa Bay with a 58.8 percent probability to win. Tampa Bay had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of -1.5. The total score of 5 went over the over-under line of 5.5.