3 takeaways: Knights get out faster than Lightning, sweep homestand
Even though the Golden Knights were getting the Tampa Bay Lightning on a back-to-back themselves, they had to be careful in the first period.
Tampa Bay is one of the best first-period teams in the league by way of its lethal offense.
Not only did the Knights slow them down — they put on a clinic of their own.
The Knights scored three times in the first period and clamped down on the Lightning offense in a 4-2 win Sunday at T-Mobile Arena, sweeping the three-game, four-day homestand.
It was a combination of the Knights (42-20-8) getting solid goaltending and playing well defensively. Goaltender Ilya Samsonov made 35 saves, and the Knights limited second chances for most of the night.
“We defended pretty well,” defenseman Alex Pietrangelo said. “I think a lot of our offense comes from when we take care of our own end. I know we gave up 30-something shots, but I thought we did a really good job around our net.”
Samsonov stopped all 13 shots he faced in the first period. His teammates helped him out.
Centers Jack Eichel, Tomas Hertl and Nicolas Roy each scored, and Pietrangelo had two assists to put a cap on an impressive homestand for the Knights.
They outscored opponents 15-6 in the three games, including wins over the Boston Bruins on Thursday and Detroit Red Wings on Saturday.
“I think our game’s in a good spot when you’re at home, especially in front of our crowd,” defenseman Zach Whitecloud said. “You want to be playing your best hockey. We played the right way upwards of 120 minutes, which is what you like to see out of your group, especially this time of year.”
The Lightning (40-25-5) were also on the second night of a back-to-back after losing 6-4 to the Utah Hockey Club on Saturday, in which backup Brandon Halverson allowed five goals on 24 shots.
Superstar netminder Andrei Vasilevskiy came into Sunday 12-3-0 in his past 15 starts with 2.06 goals-against average and a .925 save percentage.
The Knights got to him.
Roy scored for the second straight game, this time on the power play at 11:02 to open the scoring. Hertl, coming off a hat trick Saturday, hit the top left corner at 13:33 to make it 2-0.
Eichel fired a one-timer after Whitecloud kept the puck in the zone and passed it to the Knights’ leading scorer at the left faceoff circle with 47 seconds left in the period.
They took a 3-0 lead into the first while holding Tampa Bay — which is third in the league with 72 first-period goals — to nothing.
“I thought Sammy tonight did a really good job,” Pietrangelo said. “Any long-range shots, there wasn’t much in front of them. I thought he did a good job hanging onto it when he needed to. I thought we did a good job overall boxing up pretty well.”
The Knights also stymied the dangerous Tampa Bay power play to 1-for-4. The lone goal came on a six-on-four from right wing Nikita Kucherov with five seconds left.
Things were rough this time a week ago. The Knights capped off a four-game road trip with disappointing losses in Buffalo and Detroit, then spent the next three days stewing.
They put it behind them and put together an impressive stretch. They’ll be back on the road for a three-game trip starting Tuesday against the Minnesota Wild.
Three takeaways from the win:
1. Hertl injured
Hertl, who scored his team-leading 31st goal Sunday, left with 5:49 remaining after being shoved into the boards by Lightning defenseman Emil Lilleberg.
Hertl got up on his own power but went down the tunnel and didn’t return. Lilleberg was assessed a minor penalty.
Coach Bruce Cassidy said Hertl was getting evaluated after the game and will be re-evaluated before flying to Minnesota.
“I don’t know (Lilleberg) that well. He’s a big guy, trying to establish himself in the league, but that’s kind of a senseless hit to me in a situation like that when the guy’s in a defenseless position,” Cassidy said. “It’s unfortunate for us, and hopefully (Hertl) is fine. We won’t know that right away.”
2. Friendly fire
Captain Mark Stone left in the first period in the most unique way.
Stone was cut on his forehead after a puck, shot by right wing Pavel Dorofeyev, caromed off the crossbar and hit Stone’s facemask.
Stone was fine after lying on the ice for a few seconds. He got up, smiled and waved to the crowd on his way to the locker room. Stone returned in the second period and played the rest of the game.
3. Rare power play goal
The Knights scored on the power play, which isn’t surprising for the second-best man advantage in the league.
It’s just not often the second unit gets on the board.
Roy scored on a one-timer in close from center William Karlsson for his fourth goal in the past eight games.
The Knights got a power play because of a cross-check from Lightning center Yanni Gourde on right wing Reilly Smith. Left wing Brett Howden took exception and dropped the gloves with Gourde.
The goal pushed the Knights to 12-for-28 on the man advantage since Feb. 27.
Contact Danny Webster at dwebster@reviewjournal.com. Follow @DannyWebster21 on X.
