It proved to be a tough baptism of fire for the Knights when they came away from their road trip to Milton Keynes on the back of a 5-0 defeat.
The two sides met again at Elland Road on Sunday evening and the Knights looked well-set after 40 minutes with a 2-1 lead. But the Lightning showed their patience and experience by scoring two quickfire third-period goals to establish a 3-2 lead, one they held on to until the final buzzer.
This weekend, the Knights will attempt to keep their play-off hopes alive when they host Bees IHC on Saturday (6.30pm face-off) before a trip to regular season league champions Telford Tigers on Sunday evening.
Watch highlights of Sunday’s clash between Leeds and the Lightning by clicking the play button on the video above.