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SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) Andrei Vasilevskiy won his ninth straight start and Steven Stamkos scored twice to lift the Tampa Bay Lightning over the Florida Panthers 8-5 on Monday night.

Vasilevskiy made 18 saves and shares the longest win streak by a goalie in franchise history with John Grahame, who won nine in a row from Nov. 14 to Dec. 10, 2005.

Ondrej Palat scored the go-ahead goal and had an assist. Nikita Kucherov added his NHL-leading 13th goal and an assist, while Brayden Point and Yanni Gourde each had a goal and an assist for Tampa Bay. Vladislav Namestnikov and Anton Stralman also scored.

Aleksander Barkov had a goal and three assists to lead the Panthers. Evgeni Dadanov, Jamie McGinn, Jonathan Huberdeau and Aaron Ekblad also scored for Florida.

James Reimer allowed five goals on 19 shots before being replaced by Antti Niemi at 10:22 of the second. Niemi stopped 16 shots.

Tampa Bay took a 4-3 lead on Palat's shot from the left of the crease at 7:17 of the second period, then stretched it to 5-3 when Gourde tipped in the puck during a power play at 9:38. Namestnikov made it 6-3 with 4:19 left in the second.

McGinn's goal cut it to 6-4 at 5:32 of the third, but Stamkos' second goal at 9:02 stretched the Lightning lead to 7-4.

Dadanov made it 7-5 with 8:31 left in the third, and Stralman added an empty-net goal with 19 seconds left.

Huberdeau tied the score 3-all at 5:32 of the second.

The Panthers closed to 2-1 on Ekblad's goal at 10:31 of the first period.

Stamkos' first goal gave the Lightning a 3-1 advantage on a power play when he one-timed a shot past Reimer with 5:20 left in the first.

Florida trimmed it to 3-2 on Barkov's backhand from in front with 53 seconds left in the first.

The Lightning took a 2-0 lead within the first five minutes. Point put them in front 2:48 in when he redirected the puck past Reimer. Kucherov picked off a pass and put the puck over Reimer's shoulder at 4:55.

NOTES: Panthers LW Connor Brickley missed the game with an upper-body injury sustained Saturday against Detroit. ... Dadanov has eight points (four goals, four assists) in the past five games. ... Lightning C Cedric Paquette missed his sixth consecutive game with a lower-body injury. ... Point has six points in three games against the Panthers.

UP NEXT

Lightning: Host the New York Rangers on Thursday.

Panthers: Host the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday.

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Sharks fans were on their feet for nearly two minutes, cheering on Patrick Marleau in his return to San Jose.

The Sharks also honored Marleau with a video tribute that aired prior to the start of the game.

Marleau played 19 seasons with the Sharks, and is the franchise's all-time leader in games played (1,493), goals (508), and points (1,082). He signed a three-year, $18.75-million contract with the Maple Leafs in the offseason.

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The Vegas Golden Knights' misfortune in the crease continued Monday night, as goaltender Oscar Dansk left the expansion team's game against the New York Islanders with an undisclosed injury.

Dansk skated off gingerly under his own power after John Tavares scored a power-play goal to tie the game late in the second period.

(Video courtesy: NHL.com)

He was replaced by 24-year-old undrafted netminder Maxime Lagace, who allowed four goals on 11 shots in his NHL debut.

The Golden Knights later announced Dansk would not return to Monday's game.

Vegas is already without Marc-Andre Fleury, who remains sidelined with a concussion, and Malcolm Subban, who was ruled out for at least a month back on Oct. 22 with an injury of his own.

Dansk won all three games he played for the Golden Knights before Monday's contest, including a shutout of the Colorado Avalanche on Friday. He stopped 17 of the 19 shots he faced before getting hurt.

As for who might replace Dansk if he's forced to miss any additional time, Golden Knights assistant general manager Kelly McCrimmon told NHL.com's Dan Rosen that depending on the injury, the first option for any emergency recall before Tuesday's game against the New York Rangers is Dylan Ferguson of the WHL's Kamloops Blazers.

Ferguson was acquired by Vegas in the Marc Methot trade with the Dallas Stars back in June.

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Desperate to halt their skid, the Edmonton Oilers are reportedly willing to deal forward Jussi Jokinen.

With the team off to a 3-6-1 record to begin the year, Edmonton has reached out to fellow clubs to "gauge interest" for the 34-year-old, according to Sportsnet's Chris Johnston.

Unfortunately, the chances the Oilers are able to acquire anything of significant value for Jokinen is unlikely. He has tallied just one assist in nine games, while averaging 12:14 of ice time per night - the 11th most among the team's forwards.

Jokinen signed a one-year, $1.1-million deal with the Oilers this offseason after posting 11 goals and 28 points in 69 games with the Florida Panthers last season.

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Vadim Shipachyov's time as a Golden Knight was short-lived, as he is reportedly heading back to Russia. His contract will be terminated after the unconditional waiver process, according to Sportsnet's Eric Engels.

Shipachyov signed a two-year, $9-million contract with the Golden Knights on May 4, and was expected to be one of their key offensive producers after finishing third in KHL scoring with 76 points a year ago.

It didn't materialize, as Shipachyov played in just three games for the Knights, averaging just over 10 minutes of ice time.

After starting the year with AHL affiliate, the Chicago Wolves, he was sent back down after three games, placed on the trade block, and then suspended by the team for failing to report back to the AHL.

Vegas is the talk of the NHL with an 8-1 record, but the failed experiment with Shipachyov has to sting a bit.

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The Pittsburgh Penguins are hoping the third time's the charm in their search for a reliable backup goaltender.

Tristan Jarry will replace Casey DeSmith as Pittsburgh's No. 2 netminder after being recalled from the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on Monday.

DeSmith was reassigned to the AHL affiliate in a corresponding move. He gave up three goals on 15 shots after Matt Murray was pulled in Pittsburgh's 7-1 loss to the Winnipeg Jets on Sunday night.

Antti Niemi began the season as the backup goalie for the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions, but he was waived and claimed by the Florida Panthers after three terrible appearances for the Penguins in which he gave up 16 goals over 129 minutes for a save percentage of .797.

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It happens in the NHL every month: A player gets traded to a new team in a different city that he's - usually - never played in before.

Sometimes, it's a perfect fit; other times, not so much.

In honor of former Shark and current Maple Leaf Patrick Marleau's return to San Jose, we take a quick look at four players experiencing stellar starts to the season in newfound homes.

Mike Smith, Calgary Flames

The much-maligned Smith joined the Flames in the offseason to very little fanfare. But, after a well-rounded start, supporters in Cow Town are quickly changing their tune.

That's mostly because Smith has posted solid numbers, registering a 2.31 goals-against average and .931 save percentage to go along with a 6-5-0 record. But also because he has been a workhorse, starting in 11 of the Flames' first 12 contests.

Calgary may be waiting to hit its stride, but Smith is already in fine midseason form.

Brayden Schenn, St. Louis Blues

One of the more overlooked deals of this past offseason was Schenn's move to the Blues from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for Jori Lehtera and draft picks.

It was a steep price for Blues GM Doug Armstrong to pay for a guy who has never topped the 26-goal plateau.

However, Schenn is already silencing his critics, and his hot start in his new town - 10 points, plus-7 rating - is a big reason why the Blues find themselves at the top of the NHL's standings.

Patrick Marleau, Toronto Maple Leafs

Marleau came out of the gates blazing, tallying three goals and two assists across his first five games in blue and white. Not bad for a 38-year-old who was supposed to have his best campaigns behind him.

That may still be true, as there's plenty of games this season and years on his contract left to be played. But at this point, on the heels of his strong start, Marleau and his three-year, $18.75-million contract are proving to be steals.

James Neal, Vegas Golden Knights

From steal to real deal, Neal has been exactly that for the upstart Knights, as the Nashville castoff is quickly proving Predators GM David Poile should have considered hanging on to the forward a little bit longer.

In addition to being Vegas' off-ice leader, Neal is posting solid offensive numbers, leading the team in goals (7) and points (10) across his first 10 games on the Strip.

(Photos courtesy: Action Images)

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Be it from fans, media, coaches, or themselves, every NHL player enters a given campaign with a certain level of expectations surrounding their performance.

Some exceed their perceived limits to silence critics, while others fail to live up to the hype. For now, let's take a look at the former, and analyze three players who have stepped up early in the 2017-18 season.

Connor Hellebuyck

It appears some internal competition has done wonders for Hellebuyck, as he's become the early answer to the Winnipeg Jets' much-publicized goaltending issues.

In six starts, the 24-year-old is 5-0-1, stopping pucks at a .937 clip, along with a 2.05 goals-against average, while offseason signee Steve Mason looks on from the bench.

It'll be interesting to monitor whether Hellebuyck can prolong his success as the season carries on. If he does, Winnipeg's biggest problem suddenly has a solution.

Claude Giroux

(Photo Courtesy: Action Images)

A position change for any team's captain and highest-paid player is definitely not an ordinary course of action, but bumping Giroux to the wing has paid major dividends for the Philadelphia Flyers out of the gate.

Flanking regular linemate Jakub Voracek and new No. 1 pivot Sean Couturier, Giroux once again looks like his former self, producing six goals and six assists in 11 games. The trio has been one of the most formidable across the NHL, registering a Corsi-for percentage of 55.5 at five-on-five as a unit. (Corsica)

It should be noted Giroux said offseason hip surgery played a big role in his subpar 58-point output in 2016-17, but now that he's healthy and thriving in a new role, he's put an end to those questioning his place with the Flyers.

Anze Kopitar

Similar to Giroux, Kopitar found himself under the microscope after managing just 52 points a season ago, his lowest full-season total since 2008-09. His struggles last year left many wondering if his eight-year, $80-million contract extension was worth it, but he's done his best to prove last season was an anomaly.

Kopitar leads the first-place Kings with 13 points through 11 games, and seems to be getting breaks and bounces that eluded him in 2016-17, helping accelerate the success of an improved offensive-driven game plan by new head coach John Stevens.

The most pressing dilemma the newly run Kings faced was finding a way to spark a dreadful attack, but if Kopitar is leading the charge on offense once again, Los Angeles could be in good shape to find its way back into the playoffs.

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John Tavares' assault on the scoresheet has earned him No. 1 star status, as the NHL named the New York Islanders captain the top player of the week after netting two hat tricks in three games. Tavares also added an assist to his gaudy totals.

Elsewhere, emergency starting netminder Oscar Dansk earned second star honors, leading the Vegas Golden Knights to two more wins - one of which was a shutout - while posting a .968 save percentage.

Finally, Ottawa Senators forward Jean-Gabriel Pageau was named third star after registering one goal and five assists across three games.

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