Tampa Bay Lightning center Anthony Cirelli (71) scores past Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Laurent Brossoit (39) during the second period of an NHL hockey game at T-Mobile Arena Tuesday, Dec. 21, 2021. Tampa Bay Lightning center Ross Colton (79) is at right.
Published Tuesday, Dec. 21, 2021 | 4 p.m.
Updated Tuesday, Dec. 21, 2021 | 9:42 p.m.
Each team had a chance in Tuesday's to score three unanswered goals. The Golden Knights did it first, but it was the Tampa Bay Lightning who did it to win the game.
Vegas coughed up a 3-1 lead in a 43-second span in the second period, then a Steven Stamkos power-play blast in the third for Tampa Bay proved the difference as the Golden Knights fell to the Lightning in the final game before the league-wide pause, 4-3 at T-Mobile Arena.
Tied 3-3 in the third, the only power play of the period was enough for the Lightning. Stamkos might not be as well-known as Alex Ovechkin for setting up in the left circle but he can be just as lethal and proved it at 10:13. Victor Hedman slid him the puck and Stamkos fired it by Laurent Brossoit for what turned into the game-winning goal.
The Golden Knights pulled Brossoit for an extra attacker with 1:50 to go and mustered three shots on goal, but Andrei Vasilevskiy made a few tremendous saves to preserve the Lightning's win.
The Golden Knights conceded the first goal of the game, then turned things into overdrive. Mark Stone banked Max Pacioretty's pass off his skate on the power play to tie the game, and they didn't slow down, leading in shots on goal 17-5 after a period, and 27-10 at one point in the second.
Stone had his second goal of the game in the second period, and Nicolas Roy followed later with a beauty for to put Vegas up 3-1 in the second. The Golden Knights were in control, but two Lightning goals in 43 seconds flipped the script and tied the game heading to the third.
In potentially troubling news, Stone left the game in the second period and did not return. He took a big hit in the first and came back to the ice later in the period, and it's unclear if his departure was related to that. He finished with two goals on five shots and 7:47 of ice time.
Tonight's game was the last contest before a five-day pause by the league spurred by the wave of COVID-19 cases sprouting up. Vegas had two today — defenseman Alex Pietrangelo and forward Evgenii Dadonov — and Tampa Bay was without coach Jon Cooper for the same reason. Players will return on Sunday for testing, then games resume on Monday.
Vegas finished with a 41-19 edge in shots on goal.
Golden Knights lose lead quickly, tied with Lightning
The Golden Knights were up 3-1 on the best team in the league over the past few years, and things looked good for the home team. Things fell apart in a hurry.
The Tampa Bay Lightning scored twice in a 43-second span to come back to life and tie the game, sending Tuesday's game at T-Mobile Arena to the second intermission in 3-3 draw.
The Golden Knights scored to open the second and it was a dandy. Fresh out of the box Chandler Stephenson zoomed into the zone, collecting a pass from Mark Stone on his way in. His speed caused some issues for the Lightning, who didn't know who was covering him and all three defenders followed him into the corner. It left Stone wide open, and he deposited Stephenson's return pass into the net for his second of the game at 1:41, and a 2-1 Vegas lead.
The next tally even one-upped it, as Nicolas Roy scored one of Vegas' best goals of the season. He went in on both Lightning defenseman and with a forward hacking it from behind, danced around the left defenseman and and put a nifty move on Andrei Vasilevskiy for the goal. That left defenseman was, of course, former Norris Trophy winner Victor Hedman, who fell to the ice as Roy blew by him for the goal, putting Vegas on top 3-1 at 8:10.
The Golden Knights were running the Lightning out of the building, leading in shots 27-10 and looking ready to coast to a victory. Two shifts later, the game was tied.
Former Vegas forward Pierre-Edouard Bellemare started the rally, his fifth goal in 11 games against his old club, finishing a chance from the slot at 17:07. Anthony Cirelli was next at 17:50, and with just 12 shots on goal the Lightning had matched the Golden Knights in goals.
Vegas finished the second with a 28-13 lead in shots.
Golden Knights tied with Lightning after first period
The Golden Knights had to deal wuth COVID-19-related absences and injury scratches Tuesday, but didn't back down from the two-time champs.
The Golden Knights conceded the first goal against the Tampa Bay Lightning, but roared back to tie and own the puck in the first period, and went to the first intermission in a 1-1 draw at T-Mobile Arena.
Just past the six-minute mark of the first the Golden Knights turned the puck over in the defensive, and that typically precedes bad things happening. Suer enough, Mikhail Sergachev fed the puck to rookie Gabriel Fortier, who whipped it short-side form the circle by Laurent Brossoit to put the Lightning on top on just their second shot of the game.
The Golden Knights controlled the first period after that. Much of the action was spent in the Tampa Bay Zone, and Vegas led 10-2 in shots on goal at the midpoint of the first. The Lightning didn't get their third shot until nearly the 13-minute mark, and even that was a dump-in from center ice. Their next scoring chance didn't come until there was 5:09 left in the first, and that was it for shots.
That stretch also included the Golden Knights' first goal on their first power play. Mark Stone was in the right place at the right time, and Max Pacioretty's centering pass banked off his skate and into the net for his fifth of the season at 9:26 to even the score 1-1.
The Golden Knights led in shots on goal 17-5.
The Lightning will have 1:23 of carry-over power-play time to start the second period.
On eve of league shutdown, Golden Knights take on Lightning
Golden Knights forward William Carrier summed up the feeling around the NHL perfectly as he walked into the team media room and saw it was set up for a virtual press conference.
"We're back to this aren't we?" he said.
Indeed, things are looking much like last year, as the Golden Knights ready for their clash with the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning. It's impossible to pretend it's like any other game, because tonight it's the only game — every other contest across the league has been postponed due to a wave of COVID-19 throughout the league. And even then, there's no guarantee of a hockey game tonight as Vegas had two players enter virus protocol this afternoon.
Puck drop, if the game does happen, is set for 7 p.m. at T-Mobile Arena.
"I believe we're going to have a team ready to play against Tampa," Vegas coach Pete DeBoer said. "Unfortunately it's 'Groundhog Day.' It feels like we're rewinding to a year ago, but I believe we'll have a group ready to play tonight."
The two players in COVID-19 protocol — defenseman Alex Pietrangelo and forward Evgenii Dadonov — are unavailable for tonight's game. It will be the first game either has missed this season.
The Golden Knights have yet to have a game postponed due to COVID-19. Thursday's game against the Kings will be the first as part of a leaguewide pause announced last night. In the first two months of the season, there had been just five virus-related postponements this season. As the omicron variant continues to spread, there were 50 postponements in the last two weeks.
While both sides wait for test results, they expressed optimism they would play. While the Golden Knights have had several players enter league COVID protocols throughout the season, Pietrangelo and Dadonov were the first in quite some time, and the Lightning have no players in protocol. Tonight will be the last NHL game before the pause, which is set to expire on Monday when games resume.
"Hopefully we play, honestly," Golden Knights forward Jonathan Marchessault said. "I think it'd be a really good game. They've been a really good team for the past few years, obviously, and it would be a good challenge for us right now."
Should the game go ahead as scheduled, it could serve as a potential Stanley Cup Final preview. The Lightning have won the last two Cups and show no signs of slowing down with a 19-6-4 record, best in the Atlantic Division and second in the NHL. They've endured long-term injuries to star forward Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point and still remain among the best in the league.
Tampa Bay has leaned on its other stars, a wealth of which few teams have. Forward Steven Stamkos is having a resurgent year with a team-best 13 goals and 34 points, and former Norris Trophy winner Victor Hedman is up to his usual tricks by leading the team with 22 assists. Throw in former Vezina Trophy winner Andrei Vasilevskiy and his .928 save percentage, and the Lightning have a genuine superstar at every position.
The Golden Knights, meanwhile, are surging. They've won five in a row and seven of eight, storming to the top of the Pacific Division for the first time since opening night. The way they've been playing, you'd think they'd want to stay on the ice as much as possible, though players conceded the recent stretch — tonight will be their eighth game in 14 days— is tough.
"No, we'll definitely take the rest," Carrier said with a chuckle. "Body is kind of beat up a little bit. We've been playing a lot of games, especially those road trips, definitely playing some good teams. Looking forward to a rest, but still got a big battle coming."
The Golden Knights were pleased to answer hockey questions in this morning's availability, knowing the alternative is far darker. The virus wave is decimating far more than a hockey schedule, and Vegas is fortunate to have not missed a game so far.
The hope is they can get this one under the wire, enjoy the holidays and be ready for a healthy finish to the season.
"Kind of an unfortunate and unusual situation," Marchessault said. "We just want to get it done, get it over with — play a good team and be ready for Christmas break."
TV: AT&T SportsNet (DirecTV 684, Cox 1313, CenturyLink 1760)
Radio: Fox Sports 1340 AM and 98.9 FM
Betting line: Golden Knights minus-125, Lightning plus-105; over/under: 5.5 (minus-130, plus-110)
Golden Knights (20-11-0, 40 points; 1st place, Pacific Division)
Coach: Pete DeBoer (third season)
Points leaders: Chandler Stephenson (30)
Goals leader: Jonathan Marchessault (14)
Assists leader: Chandler Stephenson (21)
Expected goalie: Robin Lehner (3.03 GAA, .905 save percentage)
Lightning (19-6-4, 42 points; 1st place, Atlantic Division)
Coach: Jon Cooper (10th season)
Points leader: Steven Stamkos (34)
Goals leader: Steven Stamkos (13)
Assists leader: Victor Hedman (23)
Expected goalie: Andrei Vasilevskiy (2.10 GAA, .928 save percentage)
Golden Knights projected lineup
Forwards
Max Pacioretty—Chandler Stephenson—Mark Stone
Jonathan Marchessault—William Karlsson—Reilly Smith
Mattias Janmark—Nicolas Roy—Keegan Kolesar
William Carrier—Brett Howden—Michael Amadio
Defensemen
Brayden McNabb—Shea Theodore
Nicolas Hague—Zach Whitecloud
Ben Hutton—Dylan Coghlan
Goalies
Robin Lehner, Laurent Brossoit
