The star defenseman has missed 47 games after undergoing surgery in early October to repair a fractured left ankle sustained in a preseason game against Vegas

After struggling to convert scoring changes, Tampa Bay has just 1 goal through the first 2 periods but makes it stick.

The Lightning finally had some breathing room. That proved to be important when the Kings received a power play at 17:03. They pulled Rittich for an extra attacker. The Lightning held Los Angeles to only one SOG during the six-on-four (a long-range attempt from Drew Doughty) before Cirelli tracked a Hagel clear and tallied an empty-netter at 18:43.

Doughty plays about 24 minutes in his season debut but the Kings fall, 3-0, and have lost seven of their past nine games, scoring just 15 goals in that stretch.

Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 28 shots, Brandon Hagel scored two goals and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Los Angeles Kings 3-0.

While the star defenseman’s season debut hasn’t been determined, the Kings try to climb the .500 mark away from home, starting with Columbus on Saturday

The Los Angeles Kings defenceman will make his season debut against the Florida Panthers after recovering from a fractured ankle.

Brandon Hagel had two goals and an assist, and Andrei Vasilevskiy made 28 saves for the Tampa Bay Lightning in a 3-0 win against the Los Angeles Kings at Amalie Arena on Thursday. The shutout was Vasilevskiy’s third of the season and 37th in the NHL.

As the 4-Nations Face-Off tournament and the resulting break loom in February, the Tampa Bay Lightning are seeking one key as January comes to a close: normalcy.

Head Coach Jim Hiller was asked postgame after the second straight time being shutout, if he was close to asking GM Rob Blake to look for external options,

With the 4 Nations Face-Off scheduled as a fun interruption starting Feb. 12, the NHL regular season schedule is set to go dark for nearly two full weeks. All the more reason to hack February's feast/famine schedule to maximum advantage, as the NHL enters its oddest stretch. March will be here before we know it.

Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 28 shots, Brandon Hagel scored two goals and had an assist and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Los Angeles Kings 3-0 on Thursday night. Anthony Cirelli scored his fourth short-handed goal of the season for the Kings.