Kucherov scores 55 seconds before the end of the game as a lighting rally for a 4-3 victory over the Golden Knights

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Nikita Kucherov scored the go-ahead goal with less than a minute to play, just 1:27 after Brandon Hagel scored the equalizer, and the Tampa Bay Lightning rallied to beat the Vegas Golden Knights 4-3 Thursday night .

Kucherov's second goal of the game with 55 seconds left was his sixth of the season.

Janis Moser had a goal and two assists for the Lightning, who remain undefeated at 3-0-0. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 22 saves.

Brayden McNabb, Pavel Dorofeyev and Ivan Barbashev had goals for Vegas. Adin Hill stopped 21 shots.

Jack Eichel, with two assists on Thursday, now has 10 points in five games this season and reached double figures in points faster than any other player in Vegas history. He is the tenth American-born player to achieve this feat.

After Barbashev gave Vegas a 3-2 lead early in the second period, Hagel tied Tampa Bay at 3-2 with 2:22 remaining in the third period.

Kucherov equalized for second place in the duel with a lead of 12.8 seconds in the first round.

Takeaways

Golden Knights: The line of Eichel, Barbashev and Mark Stone have combined for eight goals, 19 assists and 27 points in five games.

Lightning: Jake Guentzel was the main free agent signing, while Steven Stamkos moved to Nashville after 16 years with Tampa Bay. Guentzel has integrated well into the front row with Kucherov and Brayden Point and has four assists.

Key moment

Hill made three saves and Vegas defensemen blocked three shots to prevent Tampa Bay from scoring on a 1:10 5-on-3 power play late in the second period.

Key statistics

Kucherov is the second Tampa Bay player to score six goals in the first three games of a season. Chris Kontos held the team record in the Lightning's first season in 1992-93.

Next

Vegas plays Florida on Saturday night. Tampa Bay travels to Ottawa on Saturday evening.

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL