Hertl continues hot streak as Golden Knights top Lightning

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Tomas Hertl scored again and the Vegas Golden Knights beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-2 on Sunday.

Hertl continued his hot streak one night after netting his second hat trick this season, as he scored his team-high 31st goal midway through the first period to give Vegas a 2-0 lead.

Nic Roy opened the scoring with his 11th goal of the season midway through the first while Jack Eichel scored his 24th to give the Golden Knights a 3-0 lead. Nic Hague added an empty-netter for Vegas while Ilya Samsonov made 35 saves in his 199th career game.

Nick Paul and Nikita Kucherov scored for Tampa Bay while Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 26 shots.

Takeaways

Lightning: The Lightning were closing out a three-game road trip after stops in Dallas and Salt Lake City, including Saturday’s 6-4 loss to the Utah Hockey Club. Tampa Bay has now lost five of its last eight.

Golden Knights: Vegas improved to 11-3-2 since Feb. 6. The 24 points are the fifth highest in the league in that span.

Key moment

Hertl, who has seven goals in the team’s last four home games, left late in the third period with what appeared to be an upper-body injury. After having his breakaway attempt stymied by Vasilevskiy, Hertl slammed into the boards after being shoved by Tampa Bay defenseman Emil Lilleberg, who was assessed a penalty for boarding.

Key stat

Though both teams boast two of the most potent power-play units — the Golden Knights rank 2nd in the NHL while Tampa Bay ranks 5th - the teams combined to go 2 for 8 with a man advantage.

Up next

Golden Knights play at Minnesota on Tuesday to open a three-game trip, and Lightning host Pittsburgh to open a three-game homestand.

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