nbcsports
In a high-scoring affair at T-Mobile Arena on Tuesday night, the Tampa Bay Lightning secured a 6-2 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights, powered by Anthony Cirelli's two goals and Nikita Kucherov's three-point performance that tied the franchise's all-time scoring record.
The Lightning, now 7-2-0, are off to their strongest start since the 2020-21 campaign when they opened 7-1-1 and went on to win consecutive Stanley Cup titles. Meanwhile, the Golden Knights had won seven of their previous eight games before the loss.
Kucherov's goal and two assists brought his career total to 1,137 points, matching former teammate Steven Stamkos for the most in Lightning history. The Russian forward has now recorded at least one point in all 15 games he has played against Vegas, a streak that trails only Mario Lemieux (26 games vs. Calgary) and Tomas Sandstrom (17 games vs. Tampa Bay) for the longest such run against a single opponent in NHL history. Connor McDavid's 17-game streak against New Jersey ended in January.
Brandon Hagel, John Carlson, and Victor Hedman also found the back of the net for Tampa Bay, while goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy made 32 saves to earn the win.
For Vegas, Ivan Barbashev scored his first goal of the season, and Mark Stone tallied his fifth goal in three games. Carter Hart stopped 15 of 21 shots in the losing effort.
Cirelli broke a 2-2 tie at 6:44 of the second period, converting a pass from Kucherov, then added an unassisted goal at 10:09 to make it 4-2. The Lightning exploded for three second-period goals to take a 5-2 lead, with Hedman's seemingly harmless shot from the left point eluding Hart late in the frame. Kucherov's breakaway goal early in the third period capped the scoring at 6-2.
Both teams played an up-tempo, wide-open style, combining for four first-period goals before Tampa Bay pulled away. The Lightning scored five goals on just 14 shots through two periods.
Golden Knights forward Brett Howden, selected 27th overall by Tampa Bay in the 2016 NHL Draft, appeared in his 500th career game, including 322 with Vegas.
Next up, the Lightning visit the Colorado Avalanche on Friday, while the Golden Knights travel to face the St. Louis Blues on Thursday.
Originally reported by nbcsports.