Lightning win! But seriously - ugh, those refs looked like they were trying to hand us the loss. Glad the boys pushed through
There is no need to get too crazy in breaking down this game. The Tampa Bay Lightning found a way to win a game that, a week ago, they would have lost. Nikita Kucherov finished off a feed from Brandon Hagel in overtime to give them a 2-1 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights. For the first time this season they have back-to-back wins and a win away from leveling their record on the season.
With both teams having played tough games less than 24 hours prior, it could be forgiven if they looked a little off. Vegas, dealing with a host of injuries to key players, looked like an exhausted team as they mustered just eight shots on goal through the first forty minutes of play. Credit to the Lightning, who employed an 11/7 line-up for bottling up an offense that still featured Jack Eichel and Mitch Marner as they limited the Golden Knights to just four high-danger chances on nine scoring chances.
On the other end, the Lightning had 24 shots on goal, aided by almost nine minutes of power play time through the first two periods. Peppering rookie goaltender Carl Lindholm was a solid strategy, but while the youngster wasn’t Rob Thomas smooth in making the stops and left some loose pucks in the area, he was making the stops. At least most of them.
The one player on the Lightning roster that needed to put the puck in the back of the net more than any other was Brandon Hagel. He has hit posts, missed empty nets (and had defenders make outstanding kick saves on empty nets) and generally been bitten by a thousand snakes to begin the season. At some point he would snag his first goal of the year. That point was less than five minutes into the game.
Brandon Hagel (1) [Victor Hedman, Jake Guentzel] 1-0 Lightning
Kudos to Victor Hedman handcuffing Lindholm with the initial shot and then Hagel was able to get inside position as he cut through the middle of the crease in order to roof the puck into the back of the net.
If no good deed goes unrewarded, no mistake goes unpunished during the Lightning’s opening month of play. Late in the period, Nikita Kucherov is late to interrupt a breakout pass. That allowed Vegas to transition through the zone and Reilly Smith threw a bullet cross-ice to a streaking William Karlsson, who beat Andrei Vasilevskiy Rookie Dominic James wasn’t able to catch the man they call Wild Bill on the back-check and the game was tied.
William Karlsson [4] (Reilly Smith, Shea Theodore) 1-1
When teams are struggling, there are moments when an avid watcher can detect the plot being lost. For the Lightning faithful that point was late in the third period. A gorgeous passing play from Brayden Point to Kucherov that ended with the puck in the back of the net was erased from the record books (if not our memories) when it was determined that the play was off-side.
Shortly after that, Gage Goncalves was knocked to the ice with a violently legal hit by Brayden McNabb. Zemgus Girgensons rushed to his teammates honor, but was whistled for roughing when he was the lone combatant to remove his gloves. The Golden Knights went on the power play with 5:30 left in the game. Unlike an earlier power play in the period which was rather easily dispatched by the defense, Vegas generated chances.
Vasilevskiy, who to that point barely had to work harder than a random fan sitting in the stands, was on points as he made big stops on Pavel Dorofeyev and Karlsson. Jake Guentzel had a clever stick lift to disrupt a point-blank chance as well. The Lightning survived, and that moment of dread passed. They found a way to make it to overtime.
Securing one point against a team that had lost just once in regulation would have been, if not satisfying, at least a victory of sorts. Given the Lightning’s history in overtime this season (0-2) it still seemed to be a likely outcome. At least it was until Brandon Hagel, who had a phenomenal game, created a turnover in the Lightning zone to generate an odd-skater rush the other way.
He ran the give-and-go with Kucherov perfectly, and Jack Eichel showed why his youth coaches did not want him playing defense as he slid? rolled? in an attempt to break up the play. It didn’t work and the passing ended with the 1,000-point man scoring his third goal of the season.
Nikita Kucherov (3) [Brandon Hagel] 2-1 Lightning
The Lightning earned this victory. It wasn’t a perfect game by any means, but it was a game where their effort level was better than their opponent. Had they not earned two points, it would still have been a good game (process over results) but the fact that they were rewarded for their effort could go a long way in their journey from the bottom of the standings.
With the two victories this weekend, some weight has been lifted off of their shoulders, but the road ahead isn’t lined with gum drops and orchids. A quick trip to Nashville is followed by a stretch of games where they take on Dallas (4-3-1), Utah (8-2-0), Colorado (5-1-4), and a rematch with Vegas (5-1-3). Those last three games are on the road.
Sunday’s win has to be the standard, not the exception, if the Lightning want to start thinking about the playoffs instead of the draft lottery at the end of the season.
NFL Trade Rumors: Rams Interested In Adding Cornerback
With a 5-2 record and tied for first place in the NFC West, the Los Angeles Rams figure to be among the buyers at this year’s NFL trade deadline.
One position they could potentially look to upgrade is cornerback. The team has been without Ahkello Witherspoon since Week 2 when he suffered a broken clavicle, and they could use some more depth at the position.
According to Dianna Russini of The Athletic, the Rams are among the teams interested in adding cornerback help at the trade deadline:
League sources tell me the following about the trade deadline:
The Ravens, Colts, Lions and Rams are making calls for a corner.
The Rams have been relying on Cobie Durant and Emmanuel Forbes Jr. as their primary corners this season, with Darious Williams and Tre Brown filling key backup roles.
It isn’t clear which cornerbacks might be available at the trade deadline, but the Seattle Seahawks’ Riq Woolen, New Orleans Saints’ Alontae Taylor, New York Jets’ Michael Carter II and Tennessee Titans’ Roger McCreary have been mentioned as possible candidates.
The Rams have been aggressive at the trade deadline in previous seasons, having acquired the likes of Jalen Ramsey and Von Miller, and time will tell if they have another move up their sleeves this year.
The NFL trade deadline is Tuesday, Nov. 4, at 1 p.m. PT.
Sean McVay explains why Puka Nacua injury can be ‘blessing in disguise’ for Rams
Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua got off to a historic start to the 2025 season before going down with an ankle injury early in the team’s Week 6 win over the Baltimore Ravens.
While a player like Nacua being out of the lineup is never ideal, Rams head coach Sean McVay explained how it actually could have been a blessing in disguise.
“I think what ended up happening is sometimes these things that are challenges can be blessings in disguise. What I mean by that is we’re always going to have Puka. When he’s up, as a focal point, but also, hey let’s let’s not in the meantime lose sight of, you know, we’ve got Puka, we’ve got Davante [Adams] but we’ve got these other players that we want to take advantage of. We’ve got these great players that we want to take advantage of them, and I thought that was illustrated by being able to have multiple personnel groupings, multiple guys involved, and where they’ve got some plays where they could maybe be the primary in a progression. Then it allows those other guys to be a little bit fresher.”
