The Vegas Golden Knights (32-26-15) rallied to overcome a three-goal deficit in the second period but were unable to hold on to a 4-3 lead in the third period, losing 5-4 in a shootout to Logan Thompson and the Washington Capitals (36-28-9) Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena.
Dylan Strome scored the equalizer on the power play just under nine minutes into the final frame and then potted the lone goal of the shootout to collect the second point for the road team.
The Golden Knights, who have now lost three straight games (0-1-2) remain in third place in the Pacific Division and now trail the Oilers by three points after Edmonton defeated Anaheim earlier on Saturday.
Strome beat Adin Hill cleanly on the first shot of the game but hit iron. However, it wasn’t long before Washington opened the scoring. Hendrix Lapierre split the Vegas defense and found twine to give the Capitals the 1-0 lead just over six minutes into the game.
It was all Washington early, as the Capitals were the better team in all three zones. Washington hit the crossbar on another opportunity midway through the frame.
The Capitals continued to be in complete control in the first half of the second period, with Justin Sourdif scoring at 1:55 to give the road team a 2-0 lead.
The Capitals added another goal courtesy of Anthony Beauvillier, who got a piece of a Ryan Leonard shot.
That meant that, once again, the Golden Knights found themselves in the familiar position of trailing by three goals.
However, the Golden Knights delivered an impressive rally in the second half of the second period to climb out of the three-goal deficit and even things up at 3-3 going into the third period.
It started with two shorthanded tallies in the span of just 25 seconds.
Facing his former team for the first time, Nic Dowd scored his first as a Golden Knight after picking Leonard’s pocket in front.
Just 25 seconds later, Rasmus Andersson danced around one of Washington’s other rookies in defenseman Cole Hutson before deking around Thompson and sliding the puck into the cage to pull Vegas within one.
Just over three minutes after that, the Golden Knights reset the score on a goal by Jack Eichel, who got to a loose puck in front and buried it. Andersson recorded the only assist on the play as Vegas erased the three-goal deficit.
The Golden Knights drew a penalty with seven seconds left, setting up 1:53 of carry-over time on the man-advantage to start a critical third period.
It took just 31 seconds for the Golden Knights to capitalize, as Mitch Marner’s power-play tally put the home team up 4-3.
The Golden Knights then got a four-minute power play when Strome was called for high-sticking, but a slashing call on Andersson put an end to that before the end of the first minor. A Marner trip, which he contested all the way to the box, then gave the Capitals a 4-on-3 midway through the period.
Strome converted on that power play to make it a 4-4 game with 11:06 remaining.
Neither team managed to net the go-ahead goal, setting up Vegas’ second overtime appearance in the last two games.
There were a few tense moments with Hill in overtime, but the Vegas netminder took care of business to keep his team in the mix. Noah Hanifin took a very late slashing penalty, setting up 25 seconds of a Washington power play, but this game would require a shootout.
Only one of six players scored, with Strome netting the game-winning goal in the first round to top the Golden Knights 5-4.
Andersson, Eichel and Pavel Dorofeyev were the shooters for the Golden Knights.
In their third consecutive loss, the Golden Knights picked up a point, but it was their 16th loser point of the season.
However, the Golden Knights responded to a rough start and rode an impressive special-teams performance to a much-needed point to keep up with the Oilers, who are now three points behind Anaheim and three ahead of Vegas.
Dowd and Andersson made clutch plays on individual efforts when the Golden Knights were desperately in need of a shift in momentum. The Golden Knights took advantage of Washington’s piss-poor power play and sparked a comeback.
Three out of Vegas’ four goals came on special teams, with Marner netting the go-ahead goal on the power play less than a minute into the third period, beating Thompson from downtown.
The Golden Knights’ top power play has been in disarray in recent games, but it stepped up in a pivotal moment against the Caps.
But yet another slow and casual start proved to be the Golden Knights’ undoing.
Yes, Vegas erased the three-goal hole and even took a one-goal lead, but things could have gone differently if they had come to play and if they had executed on chances when the game was tied in the third period.
With just eight games remaining, the fact that the same patterns present themselves time and time again is starting to become truly baffling, particularly with such a veteran group.
It’s rare for the Golden Knights to score four goals and not come away with two points, but the Capitals could have been up by five or six since they hit multiple posts and had three goals on just 11 shots through 40 minutes. Both goalies gave up four goals, but Hill finished with 17 saves on 21 shots for a save percentage of .810 compared to Thompson’s 25 saves on 29 shots (.862). He continues to struggle in net and remains unable to make the extra saves Vegas needs.
One positive takeaway is that Andersson, who got off to a very slow start when he first came over in the trade from Calgary, continues to produce and make his presence felt. He has been a key contributor in recent games, with his goal and assist in the second period tonight playing a key role in Vegas turning the game around. Bruce Cassidy rewarded him with the first slot in the shootout, though he was unable to get one past Thompson.
Ultimately, however, Andersson’s contributions, Vegas’ rally and the four-goal night were not enough for the win.
The Golden Knights, who have lost six of their last seven games, will host the Jets on Monday before wrapping up the four-game homestand Thursday against the Flames.
The Golden Knights will finish their season with matchups against Edmonton, Vancouver, Seattle (twice), Colorado and Winnipeg, with the regular season finale on April 15 against the Kraken at T-Mobile Arena.
Photo courtesy of @Capitals on X