‘It’s not a fluke:’ Golden Knights take down league-leading Lightning in impressive fashion

By Jesse Granger

Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2017 | 11:39 p.m.

If anyone is still questioning whether the expansion Golden Knights are legitimate, just take Tampa Bay defenseman Victor Hedman’s word for it.

“They’re a good team. It’s not a fluke,” Hedman said. “After a few games it might have been but not this far in.”

Vegas completed a 4-3 come-from-behind win over the Lightning Tuesday night at T-Mobile Arena to move into a first-place tie in the Western Conference and improve 4-0-0 against the top five teams in the NHL. Only Tampa Bay with 50 points has more than the Golden Knights’ 46.

Vegas defender Shea Theodore ripped a one-timer past the goaltender with only 2.3 seconds remaining to give the Golden Knights the 4-3 win over the league-leading Lightning.

In the last six days the Golden Knights have wins over the two-time defending Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins and now the Lightning.

“I don’t think it’s by surprise any more, they’re a really good team,” Hedman said. “They have four lines that go north. They play hard and play with speed.”

Tampa Bay is the NHL’s highest scoring team, averaging 3.8 goals per game. They thrive in transition with superstar forwards Steven Stamkos (12 goals and 31 assists this season) and Nikita Kucherov (23 goals and 23 assists).

But Tuesday night in Las Vegas, they were outplayed in transition.

“I don’t think we played fast enough tonight,” Stamkos said. “We can probably take a page from them in regards to how they move the puck up in transition. We just held onto it a little too much.”

The Golden Knights have been no slouch offensively – third in the NHL with 3.4 goals per game. All four of Vegas’ goals Tuesday came on the power play, including James Neal who added his 17th goal of the season (tied for sixth most in the NHL).

“I think their transition game off the rush they were very dangerous,” Hedman said. “Having four guys up in the play all the time and having the defensemen involved in the play. I think they have a lot of weapons.”

Theodore scored the game winner for Vegas, but also had assists on all three of the other goals scored. Colin Miller didn’t register a point in the game but has consistently produced from the blue line with five goals and 14 assists on the season.

“You look at our group of defensemen and every night they are chipping in with goals,” Golden Knights coach Gerard Gallant said. “I’m a little surprised with the scoring we are getting from the back end. It’s a big part of our offense for sure.”

Gallant sees no reason the Golden Knights won’t continue to win.

“Can we maintain this? I think we can,” Gallant said. “The guys feel confident. We are playing top, top teams and we are staying with them. Not just the wins but you look at the shot chart and you watch the game back and you say, ‘you know what? We’re every bit as good as those teams we’re beating.’ It’s a lot of fun.”

The Golden Knights have clearly shaken the expectations that come with an expansion team.

“We still found a way to be in a game against a really good team in a tough building to win in for opposing teams,” Stamkos said.

Vegas is now a league-best 14-2-1 at home.

“The crowd is great,” Stamkos said. “This is also a pretty entertaining city to be in. I can’t speak for other teams, but, you know. It’s loud and exciting. But the number one answer is they are a good team.”

The arena was buzzing throughout the game, and exploded with cheers when Theodore’s last-second shot found the twine. The wild environment isn’t lost on the players.

“There’s hundreds of people at our practices and it’s always a packed house here,” said Golden Knights forward Erik Haula, who is originally from Finland. “It’s crazy. It’s a lot of fun to be a part of and we just want to keep winning. I come from a place where hockey is big and it’s phenomenal here.”

The Golden Knights have passed every test they’ve faced, and they won’t get any easier. They welcome the Washington Capitals to T-Mobile Arena on Saturday.

Ask any team they’ve faced and they’ll tell you Vegas is up for the challenge.

“There’s no question that they’re a very well-coached (team),” Stamkos said. “They have guys that work extremely hard, they have some very good offensive players and they got a great goalie. They are a really good team in this league.”

Jesse Granger can be reached at 702-259-8814 or [email protected]. Follow Jesse on Twitter at twitter.com/JesseGranger_.