Lightning defeat Golden Knights in last NHL game before break

LAS VEGAS --The Tampa Bay Lightning scored three straight goals to defeat the Vegas Golden Knights 4-3 at T-Mobile Arena on Tuesday in the last NHL game before the holiday break.

Steven Stamkos scored the go-ahead goal with a one-timer from the left circle on a power play at 10:43 of the third period.
"It certainly wasn't the recipe that we want to continue," Stamkos said. "But given the circumstances, and what's gone on here the past week … we found a way to win a game that we probably shouldn't have, and we'll certainly take it."
Gabriel Fortier, Anthony Cirelli and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare scored, and Andrei Vasilevskiy made 38 saves for Tampa Bay (20-6-4), which has won eight of its past nine games. The Lightning were without coach Jon Cooper, who was placed in NHL COVID-19 protocol prior to the game; assistant Derek Lalonde replaced him.
"It was probably coming at any moment with what's been going on around the league," Stamkos said of Cooper going into protocol. "Vegas got hit today. We got hit with our coach. Things are going to change hour by hour."

Mark Stone scored twice, Shea Theodore had two assists, and Laurent Brossoit made 15 saves for Vegas (20-12-0), which had its five-game winning streak end. The Golden Knights played without defenseman
Alex Pietrangelo
and forward
Evgenii Dadonov
, who were placed in NHL COVID-19 protocol earlier in the day.
"It's disappointing not to win. I thought we put a lot of effort and work in that game," Vegas coach Peter DeBoer said. "I'm proud of our group. We've been dealt adversity since Day One. We haven't made excuses."
Fortier gave the Lightning a 1-0 lead at 6:05 of the first period after defenseman Mikhail Sergachev forced a turnover along the wall. It was the first goal of his NHL career (eight games).
Stone tied it at 1-1 on the power play at 9:26 when a pass from Max Pacioretty went in off his skate. He scored his second of the game at 1:41 of the second period to give the Golden Knights a 2-1 lead.

Stone left the game at 7:01 after 7:47 of ice time. DeBoer said Stone tweaked the upper-body injury that caused him to miss a 4-3 shootout win against the New York Islanders, and cited the upcoming holiday break as a reason not to push him.
Nicolas Roy extended Vegas' lead to 3-1 at 8:10. He received a stretch pass from Theodore, dangled by Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman and two other Tampa Bay skaters, and scored top shelf on Vasilevskiy's blocker side.
The Lightning responded with two goals in 43 seconds to tie it: Bellemare scored on a one-timer in the slot to make it 3-2 at 17:07; Cirelli tied it 3-3 on a rebound in front at 17:50.
"That was a very uncomfortable second period, [but the line of Bellemare, Pat Maroon, and Corey Perry] has become a reliable line that can kind of shift momentum with zone play," Lalonde said.

The Golden Knights outshot the Lightning 41-19, including 17-5 in the first period.
"That was tough. I thought we had a solid second period. We just let it slip in the final two minutes," Theodore said. "We all know they're going to play hard, and we have to be a little more ready for that."
NOTES: The NHL moved up the holiday break to start Wednesday instead of Friday due to COVID-19 concerns. It is scheduled to end Sunday. ... Stamkos scored his 65th game-winning goal, passing Martin St. Louis for the most in Lightning history. … Vasilevskiy won his seventh straight game, one behind Carolina Hurricanes goalie Frederik Andersen for the longest streak this season. Andersen won eight in a row from Oct. 14-Nov. 3. … Bellemare, selected by the Golden Knights in the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft, has scored five goals in 11 games against his former team. … Golden Knights goalie Robin Lehner is day to day with a lower-body injury sustained Sunday against the Islanders. ... Vegas defenseman Nicolas Hague did not play because of an undisclosed injury. … William Karlsson played his 300th game with Vegas, the third player to reach that mark (Jonathan Marchessault, 307 games; Brayden McNabb, 301).