LAS VEGAS -- The Golden Knights scored more than two goals for just the second time in six games, but it wouldn't be enough as the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning secured a 6-3 win Thursday night.
Nikita Kucherov scored a pair of third-period goals and added an assist on a late empty-netter as the Bolts pulled away for the win.
Ivan Barbashev scored two goals for the Golden Knights (7-2-3), while Mitch Marner added his fourth of the season in the third period when his shot deflected off Victor Hedman and past Andrei Vasilevskiy to tie the game.
Brandon Hagel scored 35 seconds later and the Lightning (6-5-2) never looked back, and the Knights lost for the fourth time in six games.
Vegas rookie Carl Lindbom made 21 saves.
Gage Goncalves and Dominic James also scored for the Lightning while Hagel scored his second of the game with 45 seconds left in the game.
Vegas opened the game looking as if it might dominate, with Barbashev providing the two-goal lead and the Knights outshooting Tampa Bay, 15-3.
This guy is on absolute FIRE 🔥 pic.twitter.com/XOeesL48Td
— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) November 7, 2025
But the Bolts turned the tables in the second, outshooting Vegas, 15-4, including goals from Goncalves and James.
"All those things that went our way, in the second period they did the exact same thing," Knights coach Bruce Cassidy said.
KEY MOMENT: Less than one minute after Kucherov scored his first goal to give Tampa Bay a 3-2 lead, Marner tied the game. But Hagel's goal was the turning point when his backhand from in front of the net beat Lindbom glove side. The momentum and energy Marner provided just 45 seconds earlier were drained from T-Mobile Arena.
KEY STAT: The Golden Knights were 0 for 3 on the power play, and are now 2 for 23 with a man advantage since Oct. 20. Their 8.7% power-play conversion rate is the second lowest in that span, as they're one of just four teams that is less than 10%.
WHAT A KNIGHT: Both Barbashev and Marner turned in three-point nights, which ended being all for not, after Vegas squandered its two-goal lead and then failed to capitalize when tying the game and briefly seizing momentum.
"A team doesn't give up on anything ... they don't care what the score is," Marner said of the Lightning. "Momentum swing is a lot. It got weird ... I think we got too much into a track race.
There's gonna be ups and downs in a season. That's how a season goes. The thing that this team does really well is stay even-keeled."
That's a three-point night for Mitch Marner 🔥 pic.twitter.com/CwNJI2DSH6
— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) November 7, 2025
UP NEXT: Vegas hosts the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday in a battle between the Pacific Division's top two teams. The Knights have won the last four meetings and will come into the clash on a 7-1 run against Anaheim when the teams meet at T-Mobile.
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On Thursday night, the St. Louis Blues made a statement when they healthy scratched forward Jordan Kyrou.
The 27-year-old, who is in season three of an eight-year deal worth $8.125 million, only had four goals with four assists through 14 games this season and was a -8.
The Blues, who did notch a 3-0 shutout win over the Buffalo Sabres in Kyrou's absence, 5-8-2 on the season, just two points from the Western Conference floor.
Monty on scratching Kyrou: “Many players could have been scratched after last night’s game and ultimately I decided on this group tonight.” #stlblues
— Jeremy Rutherford (@jprutherford) November 6, 2025
Leading up to the 2025 NHL Draft, Kyrou's name appeared in many trade rumors primarily because his no-trade clause was set to kick in on July 1.
Per industry sources, the Blues had poked around on the New York Islanders defenseman Noah Dobson, and the asking price for the 25-year-old offensive-defenseman would have likely been Kyrou, a potential 1-for-1, if you will.
Whether the Blues were serious about moving Kyrou or just testing the waters to see what the value was, his being healthy-scratched this early in this season doesn't turn down the volume on those trade speculations.
It's been tough sledding for Kyrou this season for sure, but he reached the 70-point mark in 2024-25, which was the third time he’s done so in his seven-year NHL career. He recorded 36 goals, one short of his career high, and 34 assists in 82 games.
He is a top-six talent that many teams would love, but given his no-trade clause, Kyrou's future is in his own hands.
The New York Islanders should be all over Kyrou if he becomes truly available.
Many viewed this Islanders' season as a step back to take two steps forward, and that first-year general manager Mathieu Darche will be selling at this year's deadline, which comes on March 6.
But, with the emergence of Matthew Schaefer and what the immediate future now looks like, could the Islanders be buyers? Could they go out and get a player like Kyrou that will help them in the short term, in a bid to make the playoffs, and someone who fits the long-term game plan?
When Mathew Barzal went down with his season-ending injury last February, Kyrou seemed like a perfect acquisition to counteract the loss while making the Islanders faster and more dynamic once No. 13 returned.
Now, with Darche and Patrick Roy wanting to play that speedy transition game, Kyrou is even more of a fit than he was a few months ago.
As for fitting Kyrou in under the cap, the Islanders would have no issues. The Islanders could add Semyon Varlamov's $2.75 million on Long-Term Injured Reserve, joining Pierre Engvall's $3 million. That would leave the Islanders with $1.623 million left to clear, as they have $752,000 in cap space before those moves.
With the Islanders' rapid rise in the prospect pool world, they could part ways with one, along with picks and a rostered NHLer that makes more than league minimum -- Maxim Tsyplakov and his $2.25M AAV stand out just because he's not playing.
Could you imagine a top line of Barzal-Horvat-Kyrou?
Nothing is imminent on the trade front at this moment, but the Islanders should be keeping tabs on the Kyrou situation very closely.
The Anaheim Ducks took to the road for a two-game trip, with the first being on Thursday night against the Dallas Stars.
The Ducks entered the game as one of the hottest teams in the NHL, having won their last four games and six of their previous seven, heading into this contest. They were coming off an emotional 7-3 victory over the Florida Panthers on Tuesday, which ended their three-game homestand.
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Leo Carlsson received a five-minute major and a game misconduct for an interference penalty early in Tuesday’s third period. For this game, he returned to the lineup in his typical spot on the top line, and the Ducks went with the exact lineup that earned them their last two victories.
Lukas Dostal got the start for the 11th time in 13 games for the Ducks and saved 21 of 26 shots. He was opposed by Jake Oettinger in the Dallas net, who stopped 18 of 24.
There were 12 goals scored in this game, but only four of them came during 5v5 play. This game was a special teams slobberknocker, where each team went to the power play five times. Discipline has been troublesome of late for the Ducks, but their 5v5 play tonight was some of the cleanest they’ve played all season, especially defensively.
All the usual suspects found the scoresheet for the Ducks, now the highest-scoring team (4.15 GF/G) in the NHL by a wide margin, ahead of the Toronto Maple Leafs (3.71 GF/G). Carlsson and Cutter Gauthier extended their point streaks to eight games each, both contributing a goal and an assist. Alex Killorn (1-1=2), Troy Terry (0-2=2), Chris Kreider (2-0=2), and Beckett Sennecke (0-2=2) also added multi-point nights.
The Ducks now sit atop the Pacific Division and are the second-best team in the NHL in terms of points percentage (.731).
Defensive Zone Coverage-After an adjustment period, the Ducks seem to have grasped the intricacies of their new zone coverage system. They are making more precise reads when it comes to secondary pressure, collapsing when necessary, and protecting the slot at all costs.
When running as efficiently as possible, they’re able to kill plays early with second quick pressure, but even when they allow extended zone time to good teams like the Stars, they remain diligent to their assignments and close the seams opponents are attempting to exploit.
Penalty Kill-After a stretch of successful penalty killing that saw them kill 20 of their last 23 penalties heading into this game, they had a difficult time against one of the top power plays in the NHL. Dallas took advantage of the Ducks’ heavy high pressure that would send the weak side forward high, along with the strong. The Stars worked the puck across the top of the zone before sending it low and to the middle or backdoor, where they’d get off quality looks.
The Ducks surrendered three goals on five penalties, but the coaching staff and the killers did well to adjust late in the third period and were more conscious of the bumper and seams under the top pressure. They even got one back when Terry and Carlsson linked up for a shorthanded tally that wound up being the game-winner.
Jacob Trouba-Trouba can be a frustrating case study for defensive fundamentalists who value close gaps, textbook angles, body engagement, etc., especially against the rush. For a player who is known for his physicality, he utilizes his stick to do most of the defending for him and is rather choosy on when to fire up the “Trouba Train.”
He baits attackers into thinking they have more time and space than they do to get shots off or make an extra stickhandle before he cleverly disrupts. The same can be said for his off-puck work as well; he’s constantly breaking up passes through the middle of the defensive zone. His foot speed can be an issue, as he got burned early in this game through the neutral zone, and his stick work can be a double-edged sword, as he received his first penalty of the season in this game for a hook early in the third.
Killorn-Poehling-Nesterenko-The Ducks listed third line played 6:45 together at 5v5, won the shot attempt battle 9-3, and collected 74.9% of the expected goals share. Poehling can recover on a dime and is a vacuum in the middle of the defensive zone. Killorn’s anticipation skills led to a goal as well as a handful of clever breakups, while his play-building skills, especially at the offensive blueline, were top-notch.
Nesterenko has blossomed into a valuable piece of what the Ducks set out to accomplish in every zone. His increasing comfort level and NHL hockey IQ are leading to his line maintaining possession of pucks moving north, while his skating and puck skills are buying him an extra half second to scan and make optimal choices.
Beckett Sennecke-Sennecke had a notably professional game, minus a key blunder in the second period that broke a 2-2 tie. Rather than simply chipping a puck deep into the offensive zone after a long shift, he attempted to break down Miro Heiskanen, one of the NHL’s premier rush defenders, in a period where his team had the long change. Heiskanen cleanly stripped him of possession and swiftly sent his forwards on an odd-man rush.
The response to what was his only glaring hiccup was impressive. He’s learning how to absorb NHL defenders and protect pucks on the wall with greater success, making keen defensive reads on the forecheck, and finding ways to translate the special aspects of his game to the highest level of the sport; an encouraging game all around for the Ducks’ talented rookie.
The Ducks will conclude their brief two-game road trip on Saturday when they head to Nevada to take on the Vegas Golden Knights in a battle for the top spot in the Pacific.
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