The Vegas Golden Knights wrapped up their three-game homestand with a blowout 6-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday night. After the teams traded goals early, Anthony Cirelli scored twice in the second period, at 6:44 and 10:09, and the game quickly got away from Vegas. Despite the final score, there were a couple of wins, but there were far more sins to talk about.
Win: Ivan Barbashev becomes the latest Golden Knights skater with a goal
Whenever a team sees Vegas on their upcoming schedule, opponents know it’s going to be a tough night against Jack Eichel, Mitch Marner, and Mark Stone. This just means there will be plenty of opportunities for the secondary players, like Ivan Barbashev, who scored his first of the season. With his first-period tally, he becomes the 11th different Golden Knights player with a goal in 11 games.
Sin: Carter Hart surrenders more than five goals for the first time in almost a calendar year
When Carter Hart joined the Golden Knights last December, he began his run with the club producing a 4-1-2 record in seven games. However, by the end of the month, he surrendered five goals in back-to-back games on December 27 and December 29 and only appeared in three more games. When he returned in April, Hart helped carry Vegas to the Stanley Cup Final and hadn't surrendered more than four goals in a game until Tuesday's loss to the Lightning. It was indeed a rough outing for Hart, but history shows these blowout games are few and far between.
Win: Mark Stone’s goal streak reaches three games
Last year, Stone tallied a goal in three or more games on four occasions, including a seven-game streak in late December into January. As everyone keeps their eyes on Eichel’s pursuit of 100 points, the captain’s early production is being overlooked. Despite missing 17 games last season, Stone collected 17 points in his first 10 appearances, which stretched from opening night into early December. Reminiscent of his performance from a year ago, he’s already up to 15 and keeping pace with Eichel, who remains at 18.
Sin: Lightning shut down Vegas star Jack Eichel
Heading into Tuesday’s tilt with the Lightning, Golden Knights’ leading scorer Eichel had points in all but two games this season, and had six points in his last three. However, Tampa Bay kept him off the scoresheet, a rarity these days, and held him without a shot on goal. Oddly, it is the second consecutive game Eichel was held without a shot on goal, yet he still picked up two assists against the Penguins on the weekend. Against the Lightning, only Eichel and Nic Dowd failed to register a shot on goal for the Golden Knights.
Sin: Nikita Kucherov and Andrei Vasilevskiy continue tormenting the Golden Knights
According to statistics on NHL.com, no other player in league history has produced a higher points-per-game average against the Golden Knights (minimum of five games) than Nikita Kucherov. While continuing his pursuit of the Lightning's all-time points record, Kucherov raised his career average against Vegas to 1.93 points per game with Tuesday's three-point performance. Meanwhile, his long-running teammate Andrei Vasilevskiy picked up his ninth career win against the Golden Knights, turning away 32 shots, and tied Jordan Binnington for most wins all-time against the club.
What’s next for the Golden Knights?
The Golden Knights head out on a two-game mini road trip that begins on Thursday in St. Louis against the Blues. After that, the team will jet off to Columbus to play the Blue Jackets on Saturday. So far this season, Vegas has yet to lose back-to-back contests.
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