The crowd was still screaming, and the public address announcer at AMALIE Arena had just finished announcing Tampa Bay Lightning forward Brandon Hagel’s game-tying goal with 2:22 remaining in Thursday’s game against the Vegas Golden Knights.
Nikita Kucherov took it upon himself to elevate the raucous chaos even further, scoring the game winner with 55 seconds left in the game from the right corner to steal a 4-3 win and push the Bolts to 3-0-0 this season.
“I think Kuch could’ve had eight or nine (goals) tonight,” Hagel said. “He just threw it to the net. When you get that many chances, one is going to go in. He made a good play by just throwing it there and was able to find the net.”
Kucherov’s goal was his sixth in three games, tying him with Chris Kontos (1992-93) for the most tallies by any Bolts player in franchise history through the first three games of a season.
Thursday’s game against the Knights saw numerous pushbacks from the home team. Vegas took a 1-0 lead 5:26 into the game when defenseman Brayden McNabb dragged the puck around a Lightning player near the top of the left circle before sending a shot into the top corner of the net.
Lightning defenseman JJ Moser tied the game at 10:21, chasing a loose puck up the ice and batting his first goal as a Bolt through the pads of Vegas goalie Adin Hill. Moser became the first player of Swiss descent to score for the Lightning. Moser also added a pair of third period assists to record the first three-point game of his NHL career.
“It’s just our system that D jump and join the rush and I saw that he just ripped it wide so I thought I’ll continue. First goal as a Bolt is a very cool feeling. First goal with any new team is always nice,” Moser said.
The visitors regained the lead on a power play goal with five minutes remaining in the period, but again the home team responded.
Kucherov scored his first goal of the game, burying a saucer pass from linemate Jake Guentzel on a 2-on-1 with 12.9 seconds left in the first.
The Golden Knights had the lone goal of the second period to take a 3-2 lead. Vegas forward Ivan Barbashev saw the puck land on his stick near the goal after numerous ricochets off Lightning defenders.
Multiple times in the third period, it looked like Tampa Bay had tied the game, but Hill repeatedly kept the puck out of the net with sprawling saves.
Hagel finally broke through for the Lightning with 2:22 remaining in the game, receiving a pass from forward Mitchell Chaffee near the top of the circles and ripping a shot high blocker past Hill.
“Chaf made an unreal play being really patient at the blue line, found me,” Hagel said. “I was opened up so I thought I’d shoot across the grain. I said a prayer and it ended up going in.”
Just over a minute later, the Lightning were celebrating again.
Kucherov corralled a rebound from his initial shot in the net, skating to the right corner of the offensive zone as the game entered its final minute of regulation. Kucherov flew a pass to the net, and the puck deflected off a Vegas defender and into the cage for another late goal.
Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy made numerous saves in the third period to keep his team within reach, including a breakaway save on Pavel Dorofeyev with 12:58 left in the game. Vasilevskiy finished with 22 saves to earn his third straight win.
"Vas had to make two breakaway saves, so let's not forget that because that could be a difference in the game, but those were few and far between,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. “You manage the puck, and you kind of dictate the play because you're managing the puck, good things happen. It took us to the 58th minute for it to happen. ... but we got the breaks when we needed it.”
The Lightning coach said he didn’t sense any panic from his roster in the third period.
"There was more of a vibe of 'We're coming'. Every line up was trying to pick up the next line. In the end, the guys that have delivered for a long time delivered.”
As for the team’s third straight win, the positive outcome was deserved, according to Cooper.
"I thought our team deserved to come back. But like I said, to get two (goals) in the last two, we're playing with house money there. That was nice for us.”
The Lightning now prepare for their first extended road trip of the season. The Bolts play in Ottawa at 1 p.m. ET on Saturday before they visit the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday. They finish their first back-to-back in New Jersey on Tuesday.
