The Tampa Bay Lightning (40-16-5) fell to the Las Vegas Golden Knights (32-22-8) 5-3 on Thursday evening in Las Vegas. The loss snapped a franchise record eleven game winning streak for Tampa Bay.
The Bolts got the scoring started on Thursday night, as Kevin Shattenkirk scored at the 7:02 mark of the first period. The Golden Knights had an answer waiting, as a goal from Alec Martinez with less than two minutes left in the first period, and from Paul Stastny at the 6:45 mark of the second period, to take a 2-1 lead. At the 15:38 mark of the second period, Tampa Bay was able to tie the game with a power play goal from Steven Stamkos that made it 2-2.
The next stretch would be pivotal for Las Vegas as they took control of the game. First, Mark Stone scored at the 16:36 mark of the second period to give the Golden Knights the lead back. The first minute of the third period saw Vegas score two more goals to take a commanding lead, as Ryan Reaves and Max Pacioretty both scored, and the Lightning found themselves trailing 5-2. Though Steven Stamkos scored a goal on the power play with two minutes to go, the Goden Knights would have little trouble hanging onto the 5-3 win.
Andrei Vasilevskiy went 28-for-33 in net in the losing effort for Tampa Bay, while Marc-Andre Fleury got the win in net for Las Vegas converting 24 saves on 27 chances. Brayden Point was not in the lineup as the result of an illness, while new addition Blake Coleman made his Lightning debut. Coleman was on the ice for 15:17 and led Tampa Bay with three takeaways.
The Lightning now head to Arizona to wrap up this western swing with a showdown against the Coyotes on Saturday night. Puck drop from Phoenix is scheduled for 8 PM - pregame coverage begins at 7:30 PM on News Radio WFLA.