Vegas is 8-2-0 with 16 points heading into Tuesday, and the most recent of those wins was a 6-2 beating of a tired Pittsburgh team. The Golden Knights scored 3 in the 1st, got goals from 3 defensemen, and got a goal and 2 assists from Mark Stone. Eichel had 13 points (4 goals, 9 assists) by midweek, tied for 3rd in the league, and Tomas Hertl (3 power-play goals) and Mitch Marner give them real depth behind him. Their net isn't settled either. Some projections have Adin Hill starting and others have Carter Hart, and Vegas hasn't confirmed which.
The style matchup is the reason to tune in. Vegas leans on territory. The Golden Knights ranked 2nd in even-strength offensive-zone time and 5th in the NHL at 30.8 shots per game, and Jeremy Lauzon led every NHL defenseman with 28 hits. That's a heavy, grinding look for a Tampa team whose best nights this season have come from finishing chances when they get them, not from controlling the puck. If Vegas wins the forecheck, Vasilevskiy or whoever starts spends the night under siege. If Kucherov and Guentzel get loose in transition, Tampa has shown it can score 3 or 4 in a hurry.
Tampa is still without Yanni Gourde, who is on the injured non-roster list with a hip injury, so the bottom-6 minutes against the Vegas checkers fall to the depth guys. Watch the Vegas power play too. Hertl's 3 power-play goals mean Tampa can't afford to spend a 2nd straight game chasing the play and taking penalties. Puck drop is 7:30 PM PT.