The Vegas Golden Knights (32-25-14) pulled off a gusty 3-2 win against the Dallas Stars (43-16-11) Sunday night at American Airlines Center.
The Golden Knights entered the matchup against one of the NHL’s top teams in the midst of a grisly three-game losing skid in which they scored just one goal.
With their playoff position on the line, the Golden Knights stepped up with one of the biggest wins of the year. After serving as a healthy scratch for five games, Reilly Smith returned to the lineup and made his presence felt, scoring the game-winning goal with 3:38 remaining in the third period.
Brayden McNabb and Ivan Barbashev also scored for Vegas, while Adin Hill stopped 13 of 15 for an .867 save percentage.
Brayden McNabb opened the scoring with a skillful coast-to-coast drive just over four minutes into the hockey game. McNabb has been excellent since the Olympic break, and his highlight-reel play put Vegas on top early.
However, much like the last time these two teams squared off, the Stars proceeded to pot the next two.
Wyatt Johnston broke a Stars franchise record with his 23rd power-play goal of the season. It was an excellent shift by Dallas’ man-advantage, whose precision passing set up Johnston in the bumper at 10:55 of the opening frame.
A defensive lapse by the Golden Knights left Justin Hryckowian all alone in front. After getting hit by the initial shot, the screening Hryckowian had time to kick the puck to his stick and beat Adin Hill with 3:12 left in the period.
Like Saturday’s game against Nashville, the Golden Knights had more chances in the first but came away trailing by one. The Golden Knights led 27-14 in shot attempts and 17-6 in scoring chances with 71.82 percent of the expected goal share, but the Stars still won the period.
The Golden Knights cleaned up their play in the neutral zone and tied the game in the second, leading 11-3 in shots while holding the Stars without a shot in the final 14:46 of the period.
On their second power play of the period, the Golden Knights’ second unit came on the ice and ran its version of what has been the top unit’s bread and butter all season. Brett Howden played the role of Mark Stone at the side of the net, and Ivan Barbashev filled in for Pavel Dorofeyev with the one-timer. The result was a much-needed power-play strike, which evened the game at 2-2 at 9:10.
There were several key moments in the second half of the period, including when Jack Eichel took a double-minor for high-sticking Mavrik Bourque.
However, the Vegas penalty kill came through with a clutch kill. The Stars took a penalty for too many men shortly thereafter, but the Golden Knights were unable to capitalize. They got another opportunity on the man-advantage at the tail end of the period, most of which carried over into the third.
Once again, the second unit was the more dangerous one for Vegas, and it generated several grade-A chances. However, Stars netminder Casey DeSmith robbed Andersson twice, including on a point-blank opportunity in front.
Hill answered with a massive scorpion kick save a few minutes later to thwart Sam Steel on the rebound.
The Stars carried play for most of the first half of the frame after Vegas’ early power play, leading 10-1 in shot attempts and 8-0 in scoring chances at 5-on-5. However, things leveled out in the second half as Vegas started to turn up the pressure.
With 3:38 remaining, the Golden Knights went to work, with Mitch Marner creating something out of nothing on the cycle. His shot hit a player in front, and Reilly Smith — back in the lineup after serving as a healthy scratch for the last five games — cleaned up the loose change in front to give Vegas the 3-2 lead.
The Stars pulled DeSmith with two minutes remaining. But the Golden Knights were active on the 6-on-5, challenging the Stars and winning races to close out the 3-2 victory.
The Golden Knights cleaned up many of the mistakes that have plagued them extensively in recent weeks. Though they surrendered the one-goal lead in the first period, they held the Stars to two goals instead of three or four. They also had plenty of chances and never took their foot off the gas.
In the end, the Golden Knights outshot the Stars 33-15 and led 72-36 in shot attempts, 44-18 in scoring chances, 17-7 in high-danger chances and 4.57-1.61 (74.02 percent) in expected goals, per Natural Stat Trick.
In Nashville, special teams cost the Golden Knights. In Dallas, special teams saved them.
The Golden Knights went 1-for-4 on the man-advantage, but Barbashev’s equalizer was a game-changer. Plus, the Golden Knights were aggressive early in the third, forcing DeSmith to make massive saves. Though Vegas allowed Johnston’s power-play tally in the first, the double-minor kill in the second was essential.
The Golden Knights absolutely had to have this game, and they looked like the hungry and desperate team for most of the night.
The two points move the Golden Knights into second place in the Pacific Divison with a one-point lead over Edmonton.
The Golden Knights have gotten plenty of assistance from the Pacific Division in recent days, which has allowed them to survive their recent slump. However, this is the type of win that could restore confidence and give the Golden Knights enough of a spark to help them turn things around in the final 11 games of the regular season.
The Golden Knights will wrap up this three-game road trip Tuesday in Winnipeg. Vegas won the other meeting against the Jets this season, went 2-1-0 in last year’s season series and is 12-7-2 in the all-time matchup.
Statistics courtesy of Natural Stat Trick.
Photo courtesy of @GoldenKnights on X