The Vegas Golden Knights (10-5-7) suffered their second regulation road loss of the season in a 5-1 decision against the Utah Mammoth (12-8-3) Monday night at Delta Center.
The loss put an end to the Golden Knights’ six-game point streak; they finished the three-game road trip with a 1-1-1 record.
Carl Lindbom remains winless through six NHL starts, but, once again, he gave his team a chance to win.
First period
The Golden Knights never quite found their rhythm in the opening frame, and Utah took advantage. The Mammoth had plenty of zone time, and when they had chances, they capitalized.
Dylan Guenter opened the scoring nearly 15 minutes into the first period to put Utah up 1-0. It was quite a play all-around, with Logan Cooley toe-dragging before leaving a drop pass for Guenther, who ripped one top-shelf over the shoulder of Lindbom.
Cooley got one of his own just 77 seconds later to put Vegas in a two-goal hole. This proved to be the game-winner. A bouncing puck set up a transition play for Utah, and Guenther set up his linemate for an easy tap-in.
Vegas had a few chances in the first, most notably a backhand off the stick of the red-hot Braeden Bowman, but Karel Vejmelka made a key stop.
Second period
The Golden Knights were much sharper to start the second, and it paid off early.
Ivan Barbashev cut the deficit with his eighth of the year 5:24 into the middle frame. It was a bit of a broken play on a give-and-go between Jack Eichel and Bowman, but the puck made its way to Barbashev at the top of the paint. It was Bowman’s second career assist, and it extended his point streak to four games.
Overall, it was an excellent 20 minutes for Vegas, who outshot Utah 16-4. The Golden Knights had five shots on a spirited power play, but Vejmelka prevented them from resetting the score.
Third period
In an attempt to jumpstart the offense, Bruce Cassidy put Mitch Marner on a line with Brett Howden and Reilly Smith to start the third, moving Pavel Dorofeyev to his preferred wing. It didn’t prove to be effective, however, as it was the home team that did all the scoring in the third.
Just over four minutes into the third period, Cooley stripped Eichel and chased down the puck on a clear breakaway. Lindbom made the initial stop, but the rebound bounced off Cooley’s skate and into the net to restore Utah’s two-goal lead. It was a tough break for Lindbom, but it was the result of an uncharacteristic turnover by Eichel, who was a little too casual just inside the blue line.
The Golden Knights had another strong power play early in the third, but Vegas hit the post for the third time in the game. This time, it was power-play specialist Bowman, who continues to impress.
Immediately after the power play, Clayton Keller had an excellent chance, but Lindbom came up with the stop. He made several key stops throughout the game despite going long stretches without seeing much action.
Late in the period, Cassidy elected to play four forwards and one defenseman at 5-on-5 to try to get something going, with Marner serving as the extra forward. Once again, it wasn’t enough.
Cassidy then pulled Lindbom with close to five minutes left — very early by his standards — but Cooley scored an empty-net goal to complete the hat trick and seal the win.
With a late power play, Vegas pulled the goalie once again, but it yielded the same result. Cooley scored his fourth goal of the game at 17:43, giving him five points on the night with a shorthanded empty-netter.
The slow start cost Vegas in the end.
The Golden Knights bounced back with a dominant effort in the second period, which was spent primarily in Utah’s end. However, they weren’t able to cash in on the power play, and they scored just one goal on 16 shots.
The game shifted after the Eichel turnover, which led directly to the Cooley breakaway goal. That seemed to settle the Mammoth, who then opened things up. Utah had a strong push, outshooting Vegas 10-5 before putting the game out of reach at 4-1. Cooley added yet another goal for good measure for the 5-1 finish.
On the one hand, Vegas is relying too heavily on Eichel and the top line. At the same time, it’s worth noting that two game-changing turnovers have cost the Golden Knights in back-to-back games, and both were committed by the top stars on the team. That’s not a trend that’s likely to continue, but they were particularly egregious mistakes.
Lindbom may not have an NHL win to his name, but this loss was not on him. He gave his team a chance to win, but, once again, got limited goal support. He finished the game with 20 saves on 23 shots for an .870 save percentage.
It was a closer game than the final score would indicate, as Vegas trailed 2-1 at the start of the third period. But the Golden Knights couldn’t capitalize on their chances. If anything, Vejmelka made the difference, stopping 15 of 16 in the middle frame.
That being said, there’s no doubt that Cooley was the first star of the game. Not only did he score four goals and add an assist, but he outscored Vegas 3-0 with a natural hat trick in a critical third period, leaving the Golden Knights in the wind.
Vegas will return home for a four-game homestand, which starts Wednesday night against the Senators.