LAS VEGAS (AP) — Nikita Kucherov scored a pair of third-period goals and added an assist on a late empty-netter as the Tampa Bay Lightning pulled away for a 6-3 win over the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday night.
Brandon Hagel also had two goals and an assist for the Lightning, while Gage Goncalves and Dominic James added goals. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 29 saves. James and Oliver Bjorkstrand also had a pair of assists each.
Ivan Barbashev had two goals and an assist for Vegas while Mitch Marner had a goal and two assists. Carl Lindbom stopped 21 shots for the Golden Knights.
The game was tied 2-2 after two periods but Kucherov scored his first 2:48 into the third to give the Lightning a 3-2 lead.
Marner tied it at 3-all less than a minute later but Hagel’s goal 35 seconds after that gave Tampa Bay the lead for good. Kucherov got his second on the power play with 5:47 to play to make it 5-3 and Hagel scored into an empty net with less than a minute to play.
Barbashev scored two goals in the first to give Vegas a 2-0 lead after one, but Goncalves and James scored in the second to make 2-2 after two.
The Golden Knights went scoreless on the power play in three chances.
Up next
Lightning: Home against Washington on Saturday night.
Golden Knights: Home against Anaheim on Saturday night.
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL
-
Golden Knights preparing for challenges against Oilers in Round 2 of playoffs
Vegas Golden Knights host Edmonton Oilers for Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals on Tuesday at T-Mobile Arena, with coach Cassidy focused on containing McDavid and Draisaitl.
Round 2 playoffs schedule for Vegas Golden Knights and Edmonton Oilers
The Vegas Golden Knights claimed victory over the Minnesota Wild in the first round of the Stanley Cups playoffs, pushing them forward into round two against the Edmonton Oilers.
What we learned from VGK's 'resilient' 1st round win over Wild in six
The Vegas Golden Knights tamed the Wild by taking Thursday's Game 6, 3-2, to eliminate Minnesota in six games.
Meet Goldie, who cheers on the Golden Knights at every practice
Goldie the 8-year-old golden retriever and her owner Mike have become beloved staples at practice games for the Vegas Golden Knights.
