It’s no secret which line the Vegas Golden Knights will rely on when they visit the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday evening.
The top line of Ivan Barbashev, Jack Eichel and Mark Stone has combined for seven goals and 16 assists through the first four games, helping the Golden Knights win three.
“They’ve been our best line offensively, and they should be,” Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy said. “They’re the drivers.”
The leading goal scorer for the Golden Knights last season, Jonathan Marchessault, signed with the Nashville Predators in the offseason, and the third-leading goal scorer, William Karlsson, is on injured reserve with an undisclosed injury. Two other offensive-minded players from last season’s team, Chandler Stephenson and Michael Amadio, are also playing elsewhere.
Vegas didn’t have any difficulty scoring goals in its first three games, totaling 15 in that span, but was limited to just two goals in a 4-2 loss at Washington on Tuesday in the opener of a three-game trip.
“I don’t think we moved our feet the way we wanted to,” Vegas defenseman Alex Pietrangelo said. “You can use the excuse that it’s a long flight, but we don’t use that. I just didn’t think we executed the game plan.”
The Golden Knights appear to have lost one of their key offseason acquisitions as forward Victor Olofsson left the game against the Capitals with six minutes left in the third period after appearing to twist his leg.
“He was just trying to pursue a puck and get there first and they get tangled up,” Cassidy said. “I don’t have an update on it. It didn’t look good when he left the ice, so hopefully it’s not too severe.”
Olofsson, who scored his third goal of the season earlier in the game, was a frequent healthy scratch for the Buffalo Sabres last season. But the Golden Knights are hoping he can find his touch from 2022-23, when he scored 28 goals in 75 games with Buffalo.
The Lightning are coming off a 4-1 win against the visiting Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday in their home opener, which was delayed by Hurricane Milton.
Lightning captain Victor Hedman raised a Tampa Bay Strong flag as his teammates tapped the ice with their sticks. Afterward, an emotional video displayed many of the scenes from the previous week.
“I love this city. It feels like home really,” Tampa Bay forward Brayden Point said. “My daughter was born here. It’s been home for my ninth year now. It’s tough to see what’s going on but, again, just so thankful that people came out.”
Nikita Kucherov has four goals and an assist through the first two games for Tampa Bay.
Point has also been impressed with the play of Jake Guentzel, who was traded to the Lightning on June 30 by the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for a third-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft.
Guentzel, who produced two 40-goals seasons with the Pittsburgh Penguins from 2016-2024, has three assists so far.
“He’s extremely smart,” Point said of Guentzel. “He’s got talent to make plays, but he’s smart. He knows where to go. He finds time and space for himself. He keeps pucks alive in battles and he wins a lot of those battles. It’s been really fun playing with him.”
–Field Level Media
