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Golden Knights Defeat Lightning 3-2, Mark Stone Scores Shootout Winner

Posted on by Tom Urtz Jr.

The Vegas Golden Knights almost blew it completely vs. the Tampa Bay Lightning, but they found a way to end the road trip with a victory and two points. The Golden Knights got off to a hot start in the first period when Brett Howden scored at 5:25 to give Vegas a 1-0 lead.

Howden has played very well against former teams this season, and that was the case against the team that took him in the first round of the 2016 NHL Draft. Howden also factored in on Vegas’ second goal of the evening, and he picked up the lone assist on William Carrier’s fifth goal of the season coming at 14:56 of the second period.

After two period of play the Golden Knights were in a position to put away the Lightning for good in the third period, but the opposite occurred. Through 40 minutes of play the Golden Knights outshot the Lightning 23 to 9, and in the final 20 minutes of play Tampa Bay out shot Vegas 17 to 1, although the lone shot for the Golden Knights was fired from center ice.

Both teams traded some glorious chances in the 3v3 overtime period, but a shootout was required to get a winner. Tampa Bay went first, and Victor Hedman was stopped by Robin Lehner. Nicolas Roy was the first shooter for Vegas, and he started off a goal-scoring spree with a sweet stutter step backhand that ended up in the top of the net.

Brayden Point, Shea Theodore, and Steven Stamkos followed with goals of their own, and then there was a bit of a drought as Jonathan Marchessault, Alex Killorn, Evgenii Dadonov, Corey Perry, and Nolan Patrick all were denied.

Ross Colton then scored for Tampa Bay to put the heat on, but William Karlsson was able to retaliate with a goal of his own. Pat Maroon was unsuccessful in his attempt, and Mark Stone scored to end the team’s road trip on a high note.

Robin Lehner stopped 27 of 29 shots on the evening in regulation and overtime, and 4 of 7 in the shootout. He improves to 18-12-1 on the season, and this performance will help improve his overall goals against average, and save percentage in addition to some of his underlying metrics.

The Golden Knights tallied 12 shots in the first period, 11 in second, and just 1 shot in the third. In total, they were out shot 29-27, and they made life a lot harder on themselves in the third period. Additionally, Vegas went 0 for 1 on the power play, and 3 for 3 on the penalty kill.

For those interested, here’s a look at how each player performed from an underlying metrics standpoint.

The Golden Knights will return home for a game vs. the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday, and it will be their final game before the All-Star break. After that their next set of games are on February 8th and 9th, and then the team will be off until February 16th.

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