Kucherov scores 2, Lightning rally past Golden Knights late to stay undefeated

TAMPA -- Nikita Kucherov scored his second goal of the game with 55 seconds left in the third period to lift the Tampa Bay Lightning to a 4-3 win over the Vegas Golden Knights at Amalie Arena on Thursday.

Kucherov won it on a shot from the left corner that deflected off the skate of Vegas defenseman Nicolas Hague past Adin Hill.

The goal came 1:27 after Brandon Hagel tied the game 3-3 with a shot that beat Hill to the top corner.

"I think the boys felt we could tie this game up," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. "They're a really, really good team and they've got six tree trunks back there that are hard to get through and they've got an outstanding top line. For us to be able to come back I feel very fortunate, but I thought our team deserved to come back. To get two in the last two [minutes], we were playing with house money there. That was nice for us."

Janis Moser had a goal and two assists, and Andrei Vasilevskiy made 22 saves for the Lightning (3-0-0).

Jack Eichel and Shea Theodore each had two assists for Vegas (3-2-0). Hill made 21 saves.

"I think we have an idea of the areas we need to be better on," Golden Knights coach Bruce Cassidy said. "We've protected leads well, so hopefully this is a one-off, but this happened last year in this building. It's happened to us more on the road than it should."

Brayden McNabb gave Vegas a 1-0 lead at 5:26 of the first period with a shot from the high slot that beat Vasilevskiy glove side.

"We should have taken that to overtime," McNabb said. "It's too bad. We need to do better in those situations. We have to finish games and have killer instinct. We're playing the right way ... but every little detail kind of matters."

Moser tied it 1-1 at 10:21, taking the puck against Brett Howden and beating Hill five-hole. It was the defenseman’s first goal with the Lightning since being acquired from the Utah Hockey Club on June 29 along with forward Conor Geekie and two draft picks for defenseman Mikhail Sergachev.

"First goal as a Bolt is a wonderful feeling, first goal with any new team is nice," Moser said. "Obviously, it has its challenges to get adapted to a new team, new system, new teammates, but I feel like it's going pretty well so far."

Pavel Dorofeyev put Vegas ahead 2-1 at 15:20 with a power-play goal, a one-timer from the right circle off a pass from Theodore.

Kucherov tied it 2-2 at 19:47 when he finished off a 2-on-1 with Jake Guentzel.

"First of all it was two very good hockey teams playing a game, but I thought we started to push in the second period and we pushed in the third," Cooper said. "But the big difference between tonight and our previous two games is we really managed the puck."

Ivan Barbashev gave the Golden Knights a 3-2 lead at 1:59 of the second period, scoring on a shot from the low slot off a pass from Theodore.

"We just let our guard down," Vegas captain Mark Stone said "2:22 left, we give them the middle of the ice and he made a good play, so be it. But two minutes left you've got to find ways to bear down. Can't let them score again.

"We were playing a good game, but we have to find ways to finish the game, right? You need to bear down and get the two points, especially when you're playing well."

NOTES: Kucherov has six goals this season, tying Chris Kontos (1992-93) for the most through the Lightning's first three games of a season. ... Kucherov has 21 points (five goals, 16 assists) in 11 games against Vegas. ... Eichel's 10 points (two goals, eight assists) are the most by any player through the first five games of a season for Vegas. ... Cam Atkinson had an assist on Moser's goal, his first point since January 23, 2024 (24 games).