*Photo from the Tacoma News Tribune*
Well, it seems like the last game before the NHL's Christmas pause was as exciting as it could be. Gabriel Fortier scored, Steven Stamkos scored, and the Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Vegas Golden Knights 4-3 on Tuesday night in Las Vegas.
The Lightning end the first portion of the season exactly where they want to be, having now won 8 of their last 9 games, also snapping Vegas's 5 game winning streak in the process. The Lightning improved to 20-6-4 with the win, sitting in first place in the Atlantic Division.
Asked about the win against Vegas, Stamkos said that "It certainly wasn't the recipe that we want to continue. 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."
Starting the scoring for the Lightning was Gabriel Fortier, scoring his first NHL goal 6:05 into the game, assisted by Mikhail Sergachev, making it 1-0 Lightning. On the power play 9:26 into the first period, Mark Stone converted for Vegas, making it a 1-1 tie on his 5th goal of the season, assisted by Shea Theodore and Max Pacioretty.
Vegas took a quick 2-1 lead to start the second, with Stone scoring his second goal of the night 1:41 into the second period. It became 3-1 when Nicolas Roy scored 8:10 into the period, on a breakaway for his 6th goal of the season. Pierre-Edouard Bellemare and Anthony Cirell scored for the Lightning before the end of the second period to tie it 3-3. The only goal in the 3rd came from Stamkos, who gave the Lightning the 4-3 win.
Asked about the turning point in the second period, Lightning acting head coach Derek Lalonde said that "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."
Keeping the Lightning hot streak going was Andrei Vasilevskiy, who put up another strong showing. Vasilevskiy turned aside 38 of 41 shots on goal, putting up a .927 save percentage in the game. With the win, Vasilevskiy improved his record to 17-4-3 in 24 starts this season.
On the other side, Vegas had it's winning streak snapped with Laurent Brossoit in net. Brossoit saved 15 of the 19 shots on goal that the Lightning sent his way, good for a .789 save percentage. His record dropped to 6-3-0 in 8 starts this season.
Asked about losing a tight game, Vegas head coach Pete Deboer said that "It's disappointing not to win. I thought we put a lot of effort and work in that game. I'm proud of our group. We've been dealt adversity since Day One. We haven't made excuses."
Vegas's next game is on December 27 when they take on the Colorado Avalanche, with Robin Lehner likely to start in goal. Tampa Bay faces the Montreal Canadiens on December 28, with Vasilevskiy back in net.
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