Kucherov’s Late Surge Lifts Lightning Over Golden Knights 6-3

Nikita Kucherov scored two goals in the third period and assisted on a late empty-netter as the Tampa Bay Lightning stormed past the Vegas Golden Knights 6-3 on Thursday night.

Brandon Hagel also tallied two goals and an assist, while Gage Goncalves and Dominic James added one apiece for Tampa Bay. Andrei Vasilevskiy turned aside 29 shots, and both James and Oliver Bjorkstrand contributed two assists each as the Lightning improved to 3-0-1 in their last four games.

For Vegas, Ivan Barbashev had two goals and an assist, and Mitch Marner finished with a goal and two helpers. Rookie goalie Carl Lindbom made 21 saves in his fifth start of the season.

The Golden Knights jumped out to a 2-0 first-period lead behind Barbashev’s pair of goals, but Tampa Bay fought back in the second as Goncalves and James scored to even the game at 2-2 heading into the third.

That set the stage for Kucherov’s takeover. The Lightning star struck just 2:48 into the third, slipping a wrist shot past Lindbom to give Tampa Bay its first lead.

Marner briefly tied the game 54 seconds later, but Hagel quickly reclaimed the advantage for the Lightning, burying a rebound to make it 4-3. Kucherov added a power-play goal with 5:47 remaining, and Hagel sealed the victory with an empty-netter in the final minute.

Vegas failed to convert on any of its three power-play opportunities and has now dropped back-to-back home games.