TAMPA, Fla. – The Tampa Bay Lightning are set to host the Vegas Golden Knights tonight at AMALIE Arena, marking the first of two meetings between these Stanley Cup contenders this season. Tampa Bay will be looking to continue their dominance over Vegas after sweeping last year’s season series with a combined score of 10-7.
Nikita Kucherov led the charge in those victories, racking up 2 goals and 5 assists for a total of 7 points. Brayden Point also had a strong showing against the Golden Knights, finding the back of the net 4 times.
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While the Lightning have historically held the edge over Vegas with a 5-4-3 all-time record, both teams enter tonight’s matchup with winning records. The Golden Knights are 3-1-0 and boast a potent offense led by Mark Stone, Jack Eichel, and Ivan Barbashev. Meanwhile, the Lightning are undefeated at 2-0-0 and will look to Andrei Vasilevskiy to continue his strong play in net. Vasilevskiy has started all 12 games against Vegas in his career, maintaining an .895 save percentage.
Adding another layer of intrigue to tonight’s game are the individual milestones within reach for several Lightning players. Anthony Cirelli is just 2 goals shy of 100 career goals, while Zemgus Girgensons needs only 1 assist to reach the 100-assist mark. Brandon Hagel is 5 games away from 300 career games, and Victor Hedman needs 8 assists to surpass Steven Stamkos for 2nd-most assists in Lightning history.
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Brayden Point is also closing in on a franchise record, needing 8 games to pass Tyler Johnson for 9th-most games played in Lightning history. Finally, Andrei Vasilevskiy is on the verge of a major milestone, needing 5 wins to reach 300 career victories.
Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 PM ET at AMALIE Arena. The game will be broadcast on Bally Sports and 102.5 The Bone.
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