NEW YORK -- Michael Grabner was one of the many bargain-basement signings by the New York Rangers this summer. The 29-year-old was coming off an eight-goal season with the Toronto Maple Leafs, a far cry from when he scored 34 goals in his first full season with the New York Islanders in 2009-10.

After his hat trick Sunday night, perhaps Grabner is back to being the dangerous scorer he used to be.

The third-line speedster scored once in the first period and twice in the third period as the Rangers bludgeoned the Tampa Bay Lightning 6-1 at Madison Square Garden for their fourth victory in five games.

Grabner joined the Rangers on a two-year, $3.2 million contract and looks well on his way to being worth every penny this season. His third career hat trick gave him five goals in nine games with New York.

"I think we shot a lot of pucks in the first and pucks wouldn't go in for us," Grabner said. "We just stuck with it. I think it was our best of all the games so far."

The lopsided outcome was in doubt after a scoreless first period that saw Lightning goaltender Ben Bishop stop all 16 shots he faced. But the relentless pressure became too much in the second period, as the Rangers struck for four goals on 15 shots against a Lightning squad that looked weary from playing the previous night.

Left winger Rick Nash scored on a breakaway. Grabner finished a magnificent passing play with a one-timer from the right circle. Left winger Jimmy Vesey scored his fifth goal off a 2-on-1 rush. Left winger J.T. Miller batted home the rebound of a shot by center Kevin Hayes, who had three assists.

Grabner finished the hat trick by scoring on a breakaway midway through the third period and finishing from in front of the net after Hayes fought off two Lightning defenders to make the pass.

The Rangers' speed will give a lot of opponents' problems this season, but when the Rangers have the benefit of a day off and are playing a team on the second half of a back-to-back, it's a recipe for lopsided victories like this one.

"There's no doubt we displayed our speed tonight," Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said. "They have a lot of speed too. Maybe the back-to-back was a factor tonight. But the way we've been playing and the way we played in the first, even though it was a 0-0 game, we had a lot of quality chances. We finally put away a few in the second, but there's no doubt that speed and the pace were a factor tonight."

After a 5-1-0 start, the Lightning have lost three straight in regulation. A slow start is usually an issue when playing road games on consecutive days, but they have a first-period goal in just one game this season. They didn't get on the board until center Steven Stamkos scored with 3:24 remaining to spoil the shutout bid of goaltender Antti Raanta, who made 31 saves for his second victory.

"I think we're concerned with the way we've been playing right now," Bishop said. "It's not something we can't fix. You don't want to stay in this rut. You want to get out as fast as you can. It's over now. We have to turn the page."

"Breakaway after breakaway after 2-on-1," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. "Not even the best goalies in the world are going to bail you out of that."

Raanta won his other start this season but did so while allowing four goals on 31 shots. He was nearly flawless against the Lightning, something that could be forgotten in the wake of his team's offensive barrage.

"He was big, no question about it," Rangers defenseman Ryan McDonagh said. "He made some key saves there, especially in the second."

NOTES: Lightning RW Ryan Callahan made his season debut after missing the first eight games while recovering from offseason hip surgery. ... Lightning RW Nikita Kucherov was back in the lineup after missing Saturday's game against the New Jersey Devils with an upper-body injury. ... Lightning RW J.T. Brown was a healthy scratch. ... Rangers LW Chris Kreider (neck spasms) missed his fourth straight game but coach Alain Vigneault said he expects to return to the lineup Tuesday. ... Rangers D Adam Clendening was a healthy scratch.