Lightning Defeat Golden Knights as Nikita Kucherov Ties Franchise Record

The start of the Tampa Bay Lightning's three-game road trip couldn't have started better. Their trip to Vegas signifies the first of three West coast games against some of the NHL's best competition, and Tampa didn't shy away from it.

Tampa started their road trip with an emphatic 6-2 victory over Vegas, one in which the stat sheet was crushed.

It starts with their six goals, a season-high. But these six goals weren't any ordinary goals, 4 of them were unassisted, 5 at even strength, and doing so on only 21 shots. Tampa was selective, and dominant against the Golden Knights.

Another key to this road trip was going to be the special teams, both the penalty kill and power play units had ranked at the bottom half of the NHL, and they were much better against the Golden Knights. Tampa converted on 1/3 power plays as Brandon Hagel started the scoring early in the first on a power play goal, and Tampa defended all 4 of the Golden Knight's chances.

Tampa's 7-2 start has been without much help on special teams, if they can get that going consistently, they are going to be tough to beat, every night.

Kucherov Inches Closer

Tampa couldn't have done it without their MVP Nikita Kucherov who recorded two beautiful assists, and a 1-1 breakaway goal. Kucherov was the best player on the ice by far, and made some history to go along with it.

Kucherov also tied franchise legend Steven Stamkos as the all-time points leader in Tampa. Stamkos spent 16 seasons in Tampa Bay, becoming the face of the franchise and finishing his tenure with 1,137 points. His career totals included 555 goals and 582 assists, making him one of the most productive players in Lightning history. Now, Kucherov has tied that mark, and will likely surpass him by the end of this road trip.

Other Notes

• Anthony Cirelli became the 10th Bolt to score 150 goals.

• Three players were a +/- of +3. J.J Moser, Nikita Kucherov, Jake Guentzel, and John Carlson.

• Most goals the Golden Knights have allowed all year, previous high was 4.

Tampa's first win on the road trip was a big one and will provide them some momentum heading into Friday night's contest with the Colorado Avalanche.

While the attention will obviously be on the games result, bigger things are within reach as just one point from Nikita Kucherov will make him the franchise's all-time leader in points. This West coast trip is going to contain a lot of scoring, and there is a good chance Tampa lights up the box score again, so tune in and don't miss out on seeing Tampa Bay Lightning history.