NHL On Tap: Golden Knights host Lightning, seeking sixth straight win

Welcome to the NHL On Tap. Three NHL.com writers will share what they are most looking forward to on the schedule each day. Today, their choices from the one game Tuesday.

Golden Knights set for showdown with champs

The Vegas Golden Knights return home for a showdown with the Tampa Bay Lightning (10 p.m. ET; SN360, SN (JIP), TVAS, ATTSN-RM, BSSUN, ESPN+, NHL LIVE) riding momentum from a four-game sweep of their East Coast road trip and five straight wins overall. Resilience continues to be the calling card for the Golden Knights (20-11-0). They're coming off a 4-3 shootout victory against the New York Islanders on Sunday, set up when Shea Theodore scored with 48 seconds left in the third period, have an NHL-high five comeback wins in December and their 10 this season is tied for first with the St. Louis Blues. Since starting 1-4-0, Vegas is an NHL-best 19-7-0 and tied with the Anaheim Ducks for first in the eight-team Pacific Division. The Lightning (19-6-4) visit T-Mobile Arena winners of seven of eight, the back-to-back Stanley Cup champions tied with the Toronto Maple Leafs for first in the eight-team Atlantic Division. -- Jon Lane, staff writer

Lightning look to stay hot

The Lightning seek their third straight win when they play the Golden Knights for the first time this season. They have won seven of their past eight and outscored their opponents 27-10 in that stretch. Goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy has won six straight starts and is tied with Carolina Hurricanes goalie Frederik Andersen with an NHL-best 16 wins. Right wing Corey Perry has scored five goals in his past 10 games and captain Steven Stamkos has scored seven points (one goal, six assists) in his past five games. -- William Douglas, staff writer

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Stamkos, Hedman set tone for Lightning

The Lightning are doing it again. With a win against the Golden Knights on Tuesday, the Lightning would have the most points in the NHL heading into its holiday break. That's downright impressive, considering Tampa Bay is following two deep playoff runs, lost Yanni Gourde, Blake Coleman and Barclay Goodrow in the offseason and has had a string of injuries to key players, including forwards Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point and defenseman Eric Cernak, who remain out of the lineup. Perhaps most impressive is that the Lightning still seem hungry to win the Stanley Cup even after consecutive championships. Vasilevskiy is doing his part, for sure, but so, too, are Stamkos and Victor Hedman. Stamkos leads the Lightning with 13 goals and 34 points in 28 games and is sixth in NHL scoring. Hedman is second among all defensemen with 30 points (seven goals, 23 assists) in 29 games, while averaging 24:56 in ice time per game. These two are setting the tone for the Lightning skaters again this season. -- Jim Cerny, senior editor

Tuesday schedule

Tampa Bay Lightning at Vegas Golden Knights (10 p.m. ET; SN360, SN (JIP), TVAS, ATTSN-RM, BSSUN, ESPN+, NHL LIVE)
Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy set an NHL record with his 63rd win of the calendar year (63-21-4) when he made 25 saves in a 2-1 win against the Ottawa Senators at Amalie Arena on Dec.16. The Golden Knights will be without defenseman Alex Pietrangelo and forward Evgenii Dadonov, who each were placed in NHL COVID-19 protocol Tuesday.
Washington Capitals at Philadelphia Flyers (postponed)
Carolina Hurricanes at Boston Bruins (postponed)
St. Louis Blues at Ottawa Senators (postponed)
New Jersey Devils at Pittsburgh Penguins (postponed)
Winnipeg Jets at Nashville Predators (postponed)
Florida Panthers at Chicago Blackhawks (postponed)
Anaheim Ducks at Calgary Flames (postponed)
Arizona Coyotes at Seattle Kraken (postponed)
Vancouver Canucks at San Jose Sharks (postponed)