Not only were the fans at Amalie Arena treated to a thrilling, come-from-behind Lightning win, they also witnessed an electric, dynamic performance from the line of Brayden Point, Nikita Kucherov, and Jake Guentzel. All three players could have tallied multiple goals. As it turned out, only Kucherov scored, but his second goal came in the game's final minute and broke a 3-3 tie.
In some ways, this was a tale of two games. The teams traded momentum surges over the first 30 minutes. Each club’s top line created problems for the opposition. For Vegas, that was the unit of Jack Eichel, Mark Stone, and Ivan Barbashev. The three players had combined for 23 points in Vegas’ first four games of the season, and they accounted for four more points in this contest.
Eichel’s line struck first at 5:26 of the opening period. Deep in the Lightning’s end, Eichel passed to Stone, who delivered a cross-ice feed to Brayden McNabb at the left point. McNabb had room to skate in a few strides before firing a wrist shot just inside the far post. The Lightning answered at 10:21 when J.J. Moser tracked a loose puck in the offensive zone and finished a shot through the pads of Adin Hill.
Two more goals were scored in the opening frame. During a Vegas power play, Pavel Dorofeyev snapped a right-circle one-timer that deflected off Ryan McDonagh and went into the top of the net at 15:20. Guentzel and Kucherov teamed up on a two-on-one that yielded Kucherov’s first goal of the night at 19:47.
The Golden Knights caught a break early in the second period when Shea Theodore’s centering feed caromed off two Lightning players and came directly to Barbashev at the opposite post. Barbashev’s goal at 1:59 gave Vegas its third lead of the night.
As the middle frame progressed, the Lightning began tilting the ice more consistently. They nearly tied the game on several occasions. Victor Hedman hit the crossbar. Soon after, Kucherov rang a shot off the post. Later on that same shift. Hill made two point-blank saves on Kucherov. Late in the frame, the Lightning received overlapping power plays. The five-on-three lasted 1:10, and they created numerous looks. But the puck stayed out, and the score remained 3-2 after 40 minutes.
Early in the third, Point almost finished an in-alone chance off the rush, but his shot banked off the bottom of the crossbar and stayed out. The Lightning continued to press the attack as time wound down. But Vegas, one of the top shot-blocking teams over the past several years, was defending well and preventing shots from reaching Hill. With under two and a half minutes left, the Lightning had only managed to post four third-period shots on net. But when Mitchell Chaffee set up Brandon Hagel in the high slot, Hagel wired a rising shot against the grain that sailed over Hill’s blocker at 17:38. It was 3-3. Then, with just under a minute remaining, Kucherov snapped a shot from the slot that Hill stopped. The puck went to the left corner. Kucherov retrieved it and threw it into the crease. After enduring all the bad puck luck earlier in the game, the Lightning finally got a good bounce. The puck hit off the stick of Vegas defenseman Nic Hague and deflected past Hill.
There were several keys to this victory. The Lightning didn’t allow the failed five-on-three or Vegas’ shot-blocking prowess to frustrate them. Vasilevskiy allowed three goals in the opening 22 minutes but shut the door the rest of the way. He made several timely stops, including a pad save on a Dorofeyev third-period breakaway. Tampa Bay’s penalty kill came up with two crucial kills when Vegas had a 3-2 lead. The second of those took place in the third, shortly after the Lightning’s unsuccessful five-on-three. And, of course, there was the performance from the Point line. The three players registered 12 shots on goal and 26 shot attempts.
After wrapping up this emotional two-game homestand with a pair of wins, the Lightning begin a three-game road trip on Saturday afternoon with a divisional game in Ottawa.
Lightning Radio Three Stars of the Game (as selected by Phil Esposito):
- Nikita Kucherov — Lightning. Two goals.
- Brayden Point — Lightning.
- J.J. Moser — Lightning. Goal and two assists.
