Lightning strikes damaging
Tampa Bay’s offense erupts for three goals down the stretch
The Golden Knights played a strong game for two periods. Then the Tampa Bay Lightning’s potent offense took over.
The Lightning scored three third-period goals, two from center Brayden Point, to hand the Knights a 5-3 loss at T-mobile Arena on Tuesday.
“Obviously we had a few lapses there that we can’t afford to have and they capitalized,” defenseman Alec Martinez said.
Right wing Jonathan Marchessault scored his team-leading 38th goal of the season for the Knights (36-25-7), who have split the first two games of a four-game homestand.
Center Brett Howden and defenseman Ben Hutton also scored, but it wasn’t enough. Goaltender Adin Hill allowed four goals on 20 shots for his fifth loss in seven starts.
The Knights got off to a fast start.
It looked like they were building off Sunday’s 3-1 win over the New Jersey Devils.
They had the lead after just 1:14
after Marchessault scored off a pass from defenseman Shea Theodore.
Special teams then flipped the game in Tampa Bay’s favor.
Lightning center Anthony Cirelli scored a short-handed goal off a 2-on-0 rush to tie the game seven minutes into the first period. Left wing Anthony Duclair gave Tampa Bay the lead 3:37 later.
Howden tied the game at 2-2 with 3:08 left in the second period to cap a strong middle frame for the Knights. They outshot the Lightning 8-3 in the second and controlled play.
Things got away from the Knights in the third.
Tampa Bay, after seeing its first two power plays killed off, converted on its third opportunity. Point scored his first goal 4:52 into the third period to put the Lightning ahead 3-2. Hutton tied the game
3:24 later, but Point then won a race to the puck and threw it off Hill’s left skate to score the game-winning goal with 7:46 remaining.
Lightning right wing Nikita Kucherov sealed the win with an empty-net goal.
The loss is another hit to the Knights in the standings with 14 games remaining in the regular season.
Their lead for the second wildcard spot in the Western Conference shrunk to three points after the Minnesota Wild’s 4-0 win against the Anaheim Ducks. The Wild have an extra game played.
The Los Angeles Kings defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 6-2 to extend their lead to two points for third place in the Pacific Division. The top three teams earn automatic playoff spots.
“That was a tough one,” Martinez said. “Especially this time of year.”
Here are three takeaways from the loss:
1. Hague draws in
Defenseman Nic Hague returned to the lineup after being a healthy scratch Sunday.
Hague skated on the top pair in place of defenseman Alex Pietrangelo, who is day to day with an illness.
Hague finished with three shots on goal in 18:09. He also had a tripping penalty in the third period that led to Point’s first goal.
2. Fourth line scores again
The fourth line delivered once again when the Knights needed offense.
Howden’s goal put the unit on the scoresheet for the second straight game. Left wing William Carrier scored a game-tying goal Sunday against the New Jersey Devils.
Right wing Keegan Kolesar contributed two assists Tuesday for his third multipoint game of the season.
“It’s tough to find positives when you lose,” Kolesar said. “We’ll come in tomorrow, have a meeting and go from there.”
3. Kucherov strikes
The NHL’S leading scorer did it again Tuesday.
Kucherov had a goal and three assists to give him 118 points on the season, surpassing Colorado Avalanche center Nathan Mackinnon for the most in the league.
Kucherov had an assist on Tampa Bay’s second goal by setting up Duclair. His other two assists came on Point’s goals in the third.
It remains to be seen if Kucherov’s impressive season will earn him his second Hart Trophy for NHL MVP. But he has a chance to win his second Art Ross Trophy as the league’s top scorer.