Kucherov ties Lightning record in win against Golden Knights
Forward has goal, two assists to equal Stamkos for most points in franchise history
By Paul Delos Santos
NHL.com Independent Correspondent
LAS VEGAS -- Nikita Kucherov tied Steven Stamkos for the Tampa Bay Lightning's record in points by getting a goal and two assists in a 6-2 win against the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena on Tuesday.
Kucherov has 1,137 points (405 goals, 732 assists) in 888 games with Tampa Bay. Stamkos, who now plays for the Nashville Predators, had 1,137 points (555 goals, 582 assists) in 1,082 games.
“His work ethic, his dedication to the game, and his dedication to the bench has always been there,” Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman said. “Obviously, seeing him the past five, six years, the way he works and tries to improve and the way he sees the game, it's fun to watch. You just got to try and get open windows out there and give him the puck as best as you can.”
Kucherov put the game firmly out of reach at 5:16 of the third period, making it 6-2 on a breakaway after poking the puck away from Jeremy Lauzon at the blue line.
“That’s what he does. He’s a special talent,” Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper said. “Guys like him don’t come around. He’s given our fans a decade of awesome.”
Anthony Cirelli scored twice but did not play in the third period for the Lightning (7-2-0), who have won three in a row and seven of eight. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 32 saves.
Cooper did not provide an update on Cirelli, who had his last shift end with 1:09 remaining in the second period.
Mark Stone and Ivan Barbashev scored, and Carter Hart made 15 saves for the Golden Knights (8-3-0), who had won three in a row.
“There were chances in the game where we could have got the momentum back, for sure,” Stone said. “... We had a couple good looks to start the second period, some 2-on-1s on the 4-on-4, decent chances on the power play, but you turn the puck over against those top guys and they make you pay.”
Brandon Hagel put the Lightning up 1-0 at 4:11 of the first period, redirecting Charle-Edouard D'Astous' shot from the point on a power play.
Barbashev tied the game 1-1 at 13:16 with his first goal of the season. He knocked in a rebound in front after Vasilevskiy stopped Mitch Marner's point-blank chance. The play started after D'Astous broke his stick while trying to clear the puck.
John Carlson put the Lightning back in front 2-1 at 14:04. Catching Vegas on a line change, Carlson's initial shot was stopped by Hart, but he got his own rebound below the right circle and shot into an open net.
Stone tied the game again 2-2 at 18:30 with a short-handed goal from the left circle. Braeden Bowman intercepted Vasilevskiy’s pass up the boards and sent a feed across to a wide-open Stone.
“Both teams are good at checking,” Vegas coach Ryan Craig said. “Some of the situations we probably put ourselves in didn't help ourselves. I thought we were a little bit out of our rhythm, a little bit out of our execution that we maybe had been in for the last nine games. But give them credit, they did a lot of that probably to influence that as well.”
Cirelli responded at 6:44 of the second period to give the Lightning a 3-2 lead. He scored on a one-timer in front off a pass from Kucherov, who chased down a rebound below the goal line.
Cirelli then made it 4-2 at 10:09, scoring from the edge of the left circle after Jack Eichel turned the puck right over to him.
Hedman pushed the lead to 5-2 at 17:56 with a shot from along the left boards.
“We were opportunistic. Special teams were great, PK stood up in big moments,” Carlson said. “The power play gets one early, which was nice. We found the third one and fourth one. Those are big plays to be made. We did well enough to handle the rest of it.”
NOTES: Kucherov will have a chance to pass Stamkos for sole possession of the record when the Lightning visit the Colorado Avalanche on Friday (9 p.m. ET; The Spot, ALT, SN360, TVAS). ... Stone has scored in three straight games and has eight points (five goals, three assists) during a four-game point streak. ... Marner extended his point streak to seven games (one goal, nine assists).
