Lightning strike for 3 unanswered goals, top Vegas 4-3
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Steven Stamkos scored the tiebreaking goal on a third-period power play and the Tampa Bay Lightning rallied past the Vegas Golden Knights 4-3 on Tuesday night in the final NHL game before an extended holiday break.
Gabriel Fortier, Pierre-Edouard Bellemare and Anthony Cirelli also scored for the Lightning, who trailed 3-1 late in the second. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 36 saves as the Lightning won their third straight and ended Vegas’ five-game winning streak.
Mark Stone scored twice and Nicolas Roy also had a goal for the Golden Knights. Laurent Brossoit stopped 15 shots.
It was the only NHL game played Tuesday night after nine others were postponed because of coronavirus concerns. The league will begin its annual Christmas break Wednesday, two days earlier than originally planned, due to a startling spike in COVID-19 cases that has shut down 10 of the 32 teams and closed various facilities.
Games are scheduled to resume Monday.
With the Flyers and Capitals called off earlier in the day, Tampa Bay and Vegas didn’t disappoint in the spotlight.
The score was tied midway through the third when the Lightning were able to work the puck around the perimeter before Stamkos fired a one-timer past Brossoit, capping three unanswered goals for the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions.
Fortier, a second-round draft pick of the Lightning in 2018, got his first career point in his eighth NHL game when the Golden Knights failed to clear the zone. Mikhail Sergachev outworked Michael Amadio for the puck in the Vegas zone and fed Fortier, who skated into the circle and beat Brossoit short side to put Tampa Baya head 1-0 in the first period.
Stone tied it a little more than three minutes later when Max Pacioretty’s feed deflected off his skate for a power-play goal.
Stone got his second goal of the night thanks to linemate Chandler Stephenson, who set things up by stealing the puck at one end and finishing with a nifty assist at the other. After showing extreme patience by holding the puck before entering Tampa Bay’s zone, and feeding Stephenson at the blue line, Stone took a backhand feed and one-timed a chip shot past Vasilevskiy to make it 2-1.
Roy turned in the dangle of the night when he entered the zone on his own — a risky 1-on-3 disadvantage — and used an inside slip to split 2018 Norris Trophy winner Victor Hedman and Zach Bogosian before beating Vasilevsky over his glove.
But it didn’t take long for the Lightning to strike back, as they needed only 43 seconds late in the second to get back-to-back goals.
First, it was former Golden Knight Bellemare with a one-timer after Corey Perry threaded a perfect pass from behind the net. It was Bellemare’s 50th career goal, and fifth against Vegas, the most against any opponent. Less than a minute later it was Cirelli gathering a loose puck, skating to Brossoit’s left, and backhanding home the equalizer.
UP NEXT
Tampa Bay: Hosts Montreal in its first game back from the holiday break on Tuesday.
Vegas: Returns from the break to host Colorado on Monday.
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