Vegas @ Tampa Bay preview

Last Meeting ( Oct 26, 2018 ) Tampa Bay 3, Vegas 2

The Tampa Bay Lightning readily accept that every one of them have not been pretty, but they can become the first team to reach 40 victories before anyone else gets to 35 when the Vegas Golden Knights visit Tuesday. The Lightning, who dropped back-to-back games once this season, beat the New York Islanders 1-0 in a shootout Friday before taking a three-goal lead and managing a 3-2 win over the New York Rangers 24 hours later.

“When you win a lot of games throughout the season, you’re going to win in different ways and you just have to be comfortable (with that),” Tampa Bay captain Steven Stamkos told reporters after Saturday’s win. “. … We did hang on. That’s the way it’s going to be coming down the stretch and in the playoffs. You’re going to have leads in the third. … and you’ve got to find a way to win those. We’ve relied on our depth a lot this year, and that’s what happens.” The Lightning, who lost twice to the Golden Knights last season before pulling out a 3-2 win at Vegas on Oct. 26, could be without leading goal scorer Brayden Point (30) for a second straight game because of a lower-body injury. The Golden Knights sit solidly in playoff position in the Western Conference, but are suffering through their longest regular-season losing streak in the team’s two-year history after suffering a fourth straight setback Saturday 3-1 at Florida. “Everybody has ups and downs in a season, and it’s important to find a way to make it last not too long, to get out of it as quickly as possible and start over,” Vegas goalie Marc-Andre-Fleury told reporters. “It’s frustrating because we’re not used to this.”

TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, TVA, AT&T Sportsnet Rocky Mountain (Vegas), FS Sun (Tampa Bay)

ABOUT THE GOLDEN KNIGHTS (29-21-4): Vegas has managed six goals during their losing streak and last season’s leading scorer William Karlsson does not have a point during the swoon. Alex Tuch tops the team with 40 points, but has been kept off the scoresheet in the past two games, and fellow forward Jonathan Marchessault (team-high 17 goals, 35 points) is scoreless in the last three while remaining at 98 assists in his career. Left wing Max Pacioretty boasts four goals, pulling him within one of the team lead at 16, and three assists in his past seven contests.

ABOUT THE LIGHTNING (39-11-2): Erik Cernak was recalled because of an injury in mid-November and has made a home on the blue line since with a plus-11 rating in 31 games to go along with seven assists and his first goal Saturday. “He’s played great,” Stamkos told reporters. “He’s maintained his focus and his confidence, so it was great to see him rewarded (with the goal).” Right wing Nikita Kucherov leads the league with 80 points and Stamkos notched four of his 28 goals in the last four games while defenseman Victor Hedman posted six of his 399 career points in the past five contests.

OVERTIME

1. Vegas C Paul Stastny boasts a career-high seven-game assist streak with eight overall during the run.

2. Tampa Bay LW Ondrej Palat is slated to play his 400th NHL game and RW Ryan Callahan is two assists from 200.

3. The Golden Knights are second in the league in hits (1,479) and the Lightning (1,317) sit seventh through Sunday.

PREDICTION: Lightning 4, Golden Knights 2