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The Vegas Golden Knights won their third consecutive game with a 4-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning Sunday night at T-Mobile Arena.
The Golden Knights scored three goals in the first period, with Jack Eichel’s 23rd of the season ultimately proving to be the game-winner. Ilya Samsonov turned aside 35 of 37 shots in a strong outing as the Golden Knights swept the three-game homestand with wins against Boston, Detroit and Tampa Bay.
However, the Golden Knights may have suffered a tremendous loss, as Tomas Hertl suffered an injury late in the third period after being sent shoulder-first into the boards.
Head coach Bruce Cassidy didn’t have much of an update on Hertl’s status after the game.
“He’ll get reevaluated. He’s getting evaluated now, and will again tomorrow. He was sore when he came off, so we’ll see. We’ll maybe get good news tomorrow,” Cassidy said.
All things considered, this was an impressive performance by the Golden Knights against a top team, and Vegas got off to a very strong start.
Aside from jumping out to a 3-0 lead, the Golden Knights kept Tampa Bay to the perimeter and had the majority of dangerous chances throughout the period. When needed, Samsonov came through with key stops, including one on Brayden Point at the tail end of the frame.
Vegas opened the scoring with a power-play strike by Nicolas Roy, as the second unit broke through for the home team. William Karlsson skated down the left side before feeding Roy in front. Roy directed the puck over Andrei Vasilevskiy to give the Golden Knights a 1-0 lead at 11:02.
Lightning head coach Jon Cooper had a lengthy discussion with the officials after the play, as the linesman initially indicated the play was offside before lowering his arm, but no challenge was issued.
The red-hot Hertl scored his fourth goal in 24 hours when he beat Vasilevskiy from the slot to give Vegas a 2-0 lead just 2:31 after Roy’s tally.
Mark Stone took a puck to the face after Pavel Dorofeyev’s shot deflected off the crossbar and into the captain’s face. Stone was down and bleeding but was able to get up on his own and waved to the crowd on his way off the ice and down the tunnel. He was on the bench to start the second period.
For the second time this weekend, the Golden Knights scored in the final minute of the first period, with Eichel scoring with 47 seconds left in the frame. It was his team-leading 87th point of the season and fifth point in two games.
The Golden Knights and Lightning were tied 13-13 in shots in the first period, but Vegas had a healthy lead where it counted.
The Golden Knights had to kill off the remaining 1:55 of Brett Howden’s slashing call and then another two minutes when Brayden McNabb got whistled for tripping at 7:16 of the second. Vegas was able to take care of business after going 0-for-2 on the penalty kill Saturday against Detroit.
In the second period, the Lightning held a 24-13 edge in Corsi, a 15-8 advantage in shots and a 5-1 lead in high-danger chances. Eventually, Tampa Bay broke through, as Nick Paul beat Samsonov with a top-shelf laser on a 2-on-1. It was a rare odd-man rush allowed by Vegas, and it gave the Lightning some life as they cut the deficit to two heading into a critical third period.
But the Golden Knights didn’t bend in the third. Though they eventually surrendered a goal in the final seconds of the game, it wasn’t until after Vegas had already scored on the empty net to restore its three-goal lead.
But while Vegas essentially shut down Tampa Bay, it was still a costly final 20 minutes.
After an unsuccessful breakaway, Hertl was pushed into the boards by Tampa Bay defenseman Emil Lilleberg at 14:11. It was a very dangerous play, as Hertl was several feet away from the boards when he was pushed from behind. He immediately got up favoring his right arm, which took the worst of the contact. Hertl was hunched over as he skated to the bench and went straight down the tunnel.
The play was initially ruled a major penalty so it could be reviewed but was later reduced to a two-minute minor for boarding.
“That’s kind of a senseless hit to me in a situation like that, when a guy’s clearly in a defenseless position and not a threat,” Cassidy said. “It’s unfortunate for us, and hopefully [Hertl] is fine. We won’t know that right away.”
Vegas was unable to capitalize on the late power play, but Nic Hague made up for his disallowed goal against Detroit by scoring an empty-net goal from downtown to make it 4-1 with 2:42 left.
Nikita Kucherov scored with less than two seconds on the clock to make it 4-2, but Vegas had done more than enough to walk away with two points. That being said, the late goal made this the 13th time that these teams have played a game decided by two or fewer goals.
It was an encouraging win for the Golden Knights, who were dominant for large stretches against a top contender in the Eastern Conference. Vegas controlled play in front of both nets, which is often the difference between winning and losing in the playoffs.
Vegas is now 42-20-8 and sits five points ahead of the Oilers as well as the Kings, who have a game in hand. It is a tight Pacific Division race, and both Edmonton and Los Angeles continue to pick up points, making every game for Vegas that much more significant.
Needless to say, there is immense concern surrounding Hertl’s status. Losing him at this point of the season would be a catastrophic turn of events, especially considering how exceptional he has been in recent games.
“He’s playing some of his best hockey he’s probably played in his career,” Cassidy said. “We’ve got other players in the lineup if he’s going to miss time…but hopefully he’ll heal up quick.”
Roy has played extremely well in recent games, and Karlsson is starting to settle in after returning from injury. The Golden Knights have depth up the middle and are otherwise healthy up front, but Hertl has been an integral part of this team.
With regards to depth, Ben Hutton was in the lineup for the first time since Nov. 17, and Victor Olofsson also drew back in after serving as a healthy scratch for two games; Kaedan Korczak and Tanner Pearson served as scratches. Hutton finished the night with two shots, one hit, one block and a minus-one rating in 11:16.
There likely won’t be a more specific update on Hertl until Tuesday, when Vegas is set to take on the Wild in Minnesota. Vegas will wrap up the three-game road trip with a back-to-back against Chicago and Nashville on Friday and Saturday, respectively. Saturday’s game will mark the first time Vegas will face Jonathan Marchessault. The three-game swing will be a key test for a Golden Knights team that has struggled away from T-Mobile Arena.
