Game Three: Vegas Golden Knights (3-1-0) at Tampa Bay Lightning (2-0-0)
Time: 7:00 PM EST
Location: Amalie Arena
TV/Stream/Radio: BSSUN, SCRIPPS, 102.5 FM
Odds: Lightning -135
Two teams off to strong starts this season will clash tonight at Amalie Arena as the Tampa Bay Lightning host the Vegas Golden Knights. It will be a test for both teams as they look to recapture their recent Stanley Cup glory. The Golden Knights raised the trophy in 2023 while the Lightning were the toast of the town in 2020 and 2021. While the teams have the same success, they’ve gone about it in different fashions.
For the Golden Knights, their rocket-like ascension to the top of the league was based on an excellent expansion draft followed by the willingness to do whatever it takes to land marquee talent via trades and free agency. They’ve wheeled and dealed their way to the top with blockbuster moves for Jack Eichel, Tomas Hertl, Noah Hanifin, while shelling out the free-agent dollars for the likes of Alex Pietrangelo.
In order to afford that, they’ve been willing to move on from past acquisitions like Marc-Andre Fleury, Jonathan Marchessault, and Max Pacioretty. You definitely need a program to keep up with the roster of the Golden Knights whenever they come to town.
The Lightning have built things a little differently, rarely venturing to make huge free agency signings (Jake Guentzel being the exception) and relying on acquiring younger, less-expensive players with term acquired at the deadline to fill in around an established core of players.
Both paths have led to success as the Golden Knights have appeared in the playoffs in six of their seven years of existence, won a Stanley Cup, and while appearing in the Western Conference Finals three times. The Lightnings success over the past decade has been well established with their two Stanley Cups, four trips to the Stanley Cup Finals , and nine playoff appearances.
That’s a lot of past success that will clash on the ice tonight. While that recent history is nice, tonight’s game is all about this season for the two teams, and they’re both off to the starts they need. The Lightning have won both of their contests by matching 4-1 scores. In both outings they’ve book-ended tough middle periods with strong first and third periods.
Reminiscent of their Stanley Cup years, the Lightning have closed out games really well, outscoring their opponents 5-1 in the final frame. Unlike the early part of last season, they’ve been helped by having two lines produce their chances. As expected, the top line of Jake Guentzel, Brayden Point, and Nikita Kucherov has been strong with two goals off of a 0.92 xGF while producing 9 scoring chances at 5v5.
The second line has been a bit of a surprise, though. Brandon Hagel, Anthony Cirelli, and Nick Paul have absolutely dominated possession of the puck with 16 scoring chances for and just 5 against. The trio has generated a team-leading 10 high-danger chances and a 1.59 xGF. They have just one goal on the board, but if they keep playing like they have, the puck will definitely end up in the back of the next on a consistent basis.
Meanwhile Vegas, whose loss to Washington on Tuesday snapped their three-game winning streak, boasts one of the top lines in all of hockey as Jack Eichel, Ivan Barbashev, and Mark Stone have combined for 7 goals in 47 minutes of 5v5 time. They’ve generated 25 scoring chances with 13 of them considered high-danger by Natural Stat Trick. Much like the Lightning’s top line, all of that offense has come at a price as they’ve also surrendered 3 goals and 22 scoring chances against.
Some of the numbers indicate that Vegas might be riding a bit of a hot streak as 12 5v5 goals outpaces their 9.17 xGF, but talented teams can do that. They will be a big test for the Lightning, who have seen drastic improvement in regards to their 5v5 defense, having allowed just 1 through their first two games.
As one might expect, a lot of that success rests on the shoulders of Andrei Vasilevskiy, who looks to be back in Vezina form as he is 2-0 with a .958 SV% and 4.43 GSAx so far this season. While the Bolts have looked better overall, he has still had to bail them out a bit as they have allowed 33.2 scoring chances against at 5v5. Only the Chicago Blackhawks have allowed more. Considering they have been tied or had the lead in a significant portion of their first two games, it does make sense that their rankings improve a few spots when adjusted for score and venue.
Expect a lot action tonight as both teams look to keep racking up the points early in the season.
Potential lines for the Tampa Bay Lightning:
Forwards
Jake Guentzel – Brayden Point – Nikita Kucherov
Brandon Hagel – Anthony Cirelli – Nick Paul
Mikey Eyssimont – Conor Geekie – Conor Sheary
Zemgus Girgensons – Luke Glendening – Mitchell Chaffee
Defense:
Victor Hedman – JJ Moser
Ryan McDonagh – Erik Cernak
Darren Raddysh – Nick Perbix
Goaltender:
Andrei Vasilevskiy
These lines are based on Tuesday’s game against Vancouver. There is a chance that they will be tweaked up a little, but why fix it if it’s working?
Potential Lines for the Vegas Golden Knights
Forwards:
Ivan Barbashev – Jack Eichel – Mark Stone
Pavel Dorofeyev – Tomas Hertl – Victor Olofsson
Brett Howden – Nicolas Roy – Alexander Holtz
Tanner Pearson – Cole Schwindt – Keegan Kolesar
Defensemen:
Shea Theodore – Alex Pietrangelo
Noah Hanifen – Nicolas Hague
Braden McNabb – Zach Whitecloud
Goaltender:
Adin Hill
Ilya Samsonov
