Golden Knights at Lightning Preview: Two teams try to return to the promised land

Game three: Vegas Golden Knights (3-1-0) at Tampa Bay Lightning (2-0-0)

Time: 7:00 p.m. EST

Location: Amalie Arena

TV/Stream/Radio: BSSUN, SCRIPPS, 102.5 FM

Odds: Blitz -135

Two teams that are off to strong starts this season meet tonight at Amalie Arena as the Tampa Bay Lightning host the Vegas Golden Knights. It will be a test for both teams as they try to recapture their recent Stanley Cup title. The Golden Knights won the trophy in 2023, while the Lightning were the city's star in 2020 and 2021. Although the teams have had the same success, they have approached it in different ways.

For the Golden Knights, their rocket-like rise to the top of the league was based on an excellent expansion draft followed by a willingness to do whatever it took to acquire outstanding talent via trades and free agency. They made blockbuster moves for Jack Eichel, Tomas Hertl and Noah Hanifin while also spending free agent dollars on players like Alex Pietrangelo.

To afford this, they were willing to give up previous acquisitions like Marc-Andre Fleury, Jonathan Marchessault and Max Pacioretty. They definitely need a program to keep up with the Golden Knights roster whenever they come to town.

The Lightning have set things up a little differently, rarely daring to make big signings in free agency (Jake Guentzel is the exception) and relying on bringing in younger, cheaper players with timely tenure around an established core of players to be added.

Both paths led to success, as the Golden Knights appeared in the playoffs in six of their seven years of existence, won a Stanley Cup and appeared in the Western Conference Finals three times. The Lightning's success over the last decade is well established with two Stanley Cup victories, four trips to the Stanley Cup Final and nine playoff appearances.

These are many past successes that will collide on the ice tonight. While this recent story is nice, today's game is all about this season for both teams, and both are in the starting lineup they need. The Lightning won both contests with a score of 4-1. In both games they ended difficult middle periods with strong first and third periods.

Reminiscent of their Stanley Cup years, the Lightning finished the games really well, outscoring their opponents 5-1 in the final frame. Unlike at the beginning of last season, it was an advantage for them that they were able to take advantage of their chances through two lines. As expected, the top lineup of Jake Guentzel, Brayden Point and Nikita Kucherov was strong, with two goals with an xGF of 0.92 and nine chances to score at 5-on-5.

The second line, however, was a bit of a surprise. Brandon Hagel, Anthony Cirelli and Nick Paul absolutely dominated puck possession with 16 chances to score and only 5 chances against. The trio generated a team-leading 10 dangerous chances and an xGF of 1.59. They only have one goal on the board, but if they keep playing like they are, the puck is sure to end up in the back of the next goal on a regular basis.

Meanwhile, Vegas, whose loss to Washington on Tuesday ended its three-game winning streak, boasts one of the top lines in all of hockey as Jack Eichel, Ivan Barbashev and Mark Stone combined for seven goals in 47 minutes of 5-on-5 play . They generated 25 chances to score, 13 of which were classified as dangerous according to Natural Stat Trick. Much like the Lightning's top team, all of that offense came at a cost as they also conceded 3 goals and 22 chances to score.

Some numbers suggest Vegas may be going through a hot streak, with 12 5v5 goals topping the xGF of 9.17, but talented teams can pull it off. They will be a big test for the Lightning, who have drastically improved in their 5-on-5 defense after allowing just 1 in their first two games.

As you might expect, much of that success rests on the shoulders of Andrei Vasilevskiy, who appears to be back in Vezina form this season as he is 2-0 with a .958 SV% and 4.43 GSAx so far. Even though the Bolts looked better overall, he still had to bail them out a bit as they had allowed 33.2 scoring chances at 5-on-5. Only the Chicago Blackhawks have allowed more. Considering they were tied or leading for much of their first two games, it makes sense that their ranking would move up a few places when you adjust for the result and the venue.

Expect plenty of action tonight as both teams look to continue picking up points early in the season.

Possible lines for the Tampa Bay Lightning:

Forward

Jake Guentzel – Brayden Point – Nikita Kucherov

Brandon Hagel – Anthony Cirelli – Nick Paul

Mikey Eyssimont – Conor Geekie – Conor Sheary

Zemgus Girgensons – Luke Glendening – Mitchell Chaffee

Defense:

Victor Hedman – JJ Moser

Ryan McDonagh – Erik Cernak

Darren Raddysh – Nick Perbix

Goalkeeper:

Andrei Vasilevskiy

These lines are based on Tuesday's game against Vancouver. There's a chance they could be tweaked a bit, but why fix that if it works?

Potential lines for the Vegas Golden Knights

Forward:

Ivan Barbashev – Jack Eichel – Mark Stone

Pavel Dorofeyev – Tomas Hertl – Victor Olofsson

Brett Howden – Nicolas Roy – Alexander Holtz

Tanner Pearson – Cole Schwindt – Keegan Kolesar

Defender:

Shea Theodore – Alex Pietrangelo

Noah Hanifen – Nicolas Hague

Braden McNabb – Zach Whitecloud

Goalkeeper:

Adin Hill

Ilya Samsonov