Lightning extend point streak to 7 games with win over Golden Knights

LAS VEGAS (AP) J.T. Miller scored his third goal of the season, Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 29 of 31 shots and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Vegas Golden Knights 3-2 on Friday.

Tyler Johnson and Brayden Point also scored for Tampa Bay, which extended its point streak to seven games, going 6-0-1 over that stretch.

Shea Theodore and William Karlsson scored for Vegas, while Marc-Andre Fleury made 20 saves.

Ten games into their inaugural season, the Golden Knights were 8-2-0. They didn't lose their fifth game until Nov. 7. Now, the defending Western Conference champions are 4-5-1 and sixth in the Pacific Division.

Though it notched one power play goal, Vegas still has the league's worst conversion rate with a man advantage, now 3 for 32. Tampa Bay owns the league's best penalty kill (35 of 37).

Johnson put the Lightning on the board early in the first period when he spotted a rebound in front of the net and chipped a shot past Fleury.

Ryan Carpenter used the boards to slide a perfect pass to Theodore, who blasted a one-timer through traffic from the blue line and past Vasilevskiy to tie game a couple of minutes later.

Later in the first, Steven Stamkos delivered a pass into the slot for Point, who tapped the puck past Fleury to give Tampa Bay the lead once again.

Miller made it 3-1 early in the second. He was positioned perfectly in front of net when the puck deflected off him and past Fleury for a power-play goal. The Lightning have scored on the power play in four straight games and six of their last seven.

Karlsson, who now has a point in six of the last eight games, ripped a wrist shot past Vasilevskiy on the glove side for a power-play goal with 18:13 left in the game.

NOTES: Theodore's goal marked Vegas' first from a defenseman this season. ... Vasilevskiy came into the game having allowed just two goals in first periods this season; his .966 first-period save percentage was tops in the NHL. ... Vasilevskiy, who recorded his first shutout of the season Wednesday in Colorado, was 6-1-1 with a .952 save percentage in starts following a shutout last season. ... Stamkos needs one goal to reach 350 for his career. ... Miller will reach the 200-point plateau with his next point.

UP NEXT

Tampa Bay: Visits Arizona on Saturday.

Vegas: Hosts Ottawa on Sunday.

---

More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/tag/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP-Sports