Golden Knights Game 70, Strikes Twice; Lines, Notes, & How to Watch vs Lightning

The Vegas Golden Knights (41-20-8) close out a three-game homestand on Sunday. They won the prior two games and are looking for a clean sweep. They’ll face off against the Tampa Bay Lightning (40-24-5) at T-Mobile Arena. 

The puck drops just after 5 p.m. 

The Golden Knights won the first two games of their three-game homestand and outscored their opponents 11-4. On Thursday, they steamrolled the Boston Bruins 5-1; on Saturday, they beat the Detroit Red Wings 6-3. In both games, a Vegas player recorded a hat trick.

The Lightning were also in action on Saturday and made their first trip to Delta Center to play the Utah Hockey Club. They fell behind early and tied the game twice but could never take the lead. The Lightning lost 6-4. 

Adin Hill started yesterday, so Ilya Samsonov gets the starting nod on Sunday. Samsonov has a record of 2-0-0 and an average save percentage of .833 in four career games against the Lightning. 

Andrei Vasilevskiy starts in net for the Lightning. The Big Cat has a record of 6-4-3 and an average save percentage of .894 in 13 career games against the Golden Knights. 

Golden Knights Lines

Ivan Barbashev-Jack Eichel-Mark Stone

Brandon Saad-Tomáš Hertl-Pavel Dorofeyev

Brett Howden-William Karlsson-Reilly Smith

Victor Olofsson-Nicolas Roy-Keegan Kolesar

Defense

Noah Hanifin-Alex Pietrangelo

Brayden McNabb-Zach Whitecloud

Ben Hutton-Nic Hague

Goaltender: Ilya Samsonov

Projected Lightning Lines

Brandon Hagel-Anthony Cirelli-Nikita Kucherov

Jake Guentzel-Brayden Point-Yanni Gourde

Oliver Bjorkstrand-Nick Paul-Gage Goncalves

Zemgus Girgensons-Luke Glendening

Defense

Victor Hedman-JJ Moser

Ryan McDonagh-Erik Černák

Emil Lilleberg-Nick Perbix

Darren Raddysh

Goaltender: Andrei Vasilevskiy

Special Teams

Golden Knights power play: 29.8%, 2nd. Golden Knights penalty kill: 75.7%, 24th. 

Lightning power play: 25.8%, 5th. Lightning penalty kill: 82.2%, 7th. 

Game Notes

This is the second and final time the Golden Knights play the Lightning this season. They have lost three straight games to the Lightning and are 7-6-0 against them all time.

Sunday’s game will be the 10th back-to-back the Golden Knights have played this season. They have a record of 5-4-1 in the first game and 5-4-0 in the second.

This is the last time the Golden Knights will face an Eastern Conference team in the 2024-25 regular season. The remaining 12 games will all be against Western Conference opponents.

Tomáš Hertl’s hat trick against the Red Wings on Saturday tied him with Pavel Dorofeyev for the team lead in goals with 30. 

Mark Stone has 12 goals and 27 points in 23 career games against the Lightning. 

Nikita Kucherov is third in the league in scoring with 97 points. He has five goals and 21 assists in 11 career games against the Golden Knights; Brayden Point has nine goals and 12 points in 11 career games.

The Golden Knights are 26-7-3 at T-Mobile Arena this season; the Lightning are 16-16-3 on the road. 

How to Watch

TV: Vegas 34

Radio: FOX Sports Las Vegas 98.9/1340