The Vegas Golden Knights (25-14-14) overcame a three-goal deficit in the third period but were unable to complete the comeback effort, falling 5-4 in a shootout to the Dallas Stars (31-14-9) Thursday night at T-Mobile Arena.
The Golden Knights were trailing 4-1 in the third period but scored three times, with Mitch Marner netting the equalizer in the final minute of regulation to force overtime. However, the Golden Knights couldn’t finish the job in the shootout, losing 2-0 in the skills competition to their Central Division rival.
Rasmus Andersson made his debut in front of the Vegas faithful. He recorded a primary assist and finished the game with three shots and two blocks as well as a team-high seven shot attempts in 22:44.
The Stars scored on their first shot of the night, as Matt Duchene gave Dallas a 1-0 lead in the first two minutes of the game.
Duchene made a great pass from below the goal line to set up Jamie Benn. Adin Hill committed to Benn, whose shot missed, leading to a scramble in front of an empty net. Duchene was there to finish the play from the sharp angle just 1:37 into the contest.
The Golden Knights had some looks in the first period but were no match for Dallas’ speed in the neutral zone. Shots were 9-7 in favor of Dallas through the opening 20 minutes.
Keegan Kolesar evened things up at 1-1 just over four minutes into the second period with his fifth goal of the season (all of which have come in January). The puck deflected off Marner’s stick in the corner and went right to Kolesar, who changed the angle before beating Jake Oettinger in tight.
Jeremy Lauzon had a clear-cut breakaway coming out of the penalty box and actually pulled off a decent move, but his attempt was thwarted by Oettinger, who turned aside Lauzon’s five-hole bid to keep things tied at 1-1.
The rest of the second period was a downhill spiral for the Golden Knights.
After Kolesar tied the game, the Stars went on to score three goals, while the Golden Knights managed to record three shots.
Dallas’ three tallies came in the span of just under eight minutes.
Mavrik Bourque kicked things off with two goals, the first of which came at 8:46 when a careless play by Kolesar behind the net resulted in a one-timed blast from the slot.
Bourque’s second was another example of Vegas getting burned by a pass from beneath the goal line, and it made it a 3-1 game at 14:16.
Things went from bad to worse 2:27 later when Wyatt Johnston scored his 28th of the season off a rebound. The Stars won the faceoff in the offensive end, and though Hill made the initial save, no one tied up Johnston on the follow-up.
The Golden Knights found themselves down by three goals going into the third period.
When Vegas took a penalty 3:15 into the third period, the Stars could have truly put the game away. Instead, the Golden Knights woke up and showed up.
Kolesar earned some redemption by forcing a turnover to set up a 2-on-1 with Reilly Smith. Kolesar sent a slick pass under the stick of Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen and onto the tape of Smith, who scored his ninth of the season to make it a two-goal game.
It was Smith’s 13th shorthanded goal as a member of the Golden Knights, which ranks second in franchise history behind William Karlsson (15). His tally 4:04 into the third period officially kickstarted Vegas’ rally.
With 6:06 remaining, the Golden Knights cut the deficit to one on Ivan Barbashev’s 13th goal of the year and first in two months (Dec. 27). Collecting a centering feed from Andersson, Barbashev beat Oettinger cleanly from the slot to make it a 4-3 game.
Then, with 49 seconds remaining, Marner pulled off a great keep by knocking the puck out of mid-air with his stick. He settled the puck before firing it through traffic and into the top corner, resetting the score at 4-4 in the final minute of regulation to force overtime.
Hill made two big saves in overtime, including one on Jason Robertson and the other on Bourque, who threatened to end it with a hat trick on a point-blank opportunity. The Golden Knights really only had one look in the five-minute frame in the form of a give-and-go between Shea Theodore and Mark Stone. However, Stone was unable to redirect the pass on net.
Pavel Dorofeyev and Jack Eichel were denied by Oettinger in the shootout, while Robertson and Mikko Rantanen got the best of Hill to secure the second point and hand Vegas its third consecutive loss.
The Golden Knights’ 2025-26 season has been a true roller-coaster through 53 games. Vegas has now lost five of its last six games after winning a season-long seven consecutive. Prior to that, the Golden Knights dropped eight of nine.
Tonight’s game was a familiar combination of recent trends and a mixed bag overall.
First and foremost, it was yet another Golden Knights game that couldn’t be decided in 60 minutes, marking the sixth time this month alone. Additionally, the Golden Knights’ resilience was on full display, and Vegas was able to steal another point. The Golden Knights have secured one point in a loss on 14 occasions this year.
The Golden Knights fell into several of the same traps that have been plaguing them for months. They didn’t start strong, they didn’t play particularly well through 40 minutes, they turned the puck over and they failed to stop the bleeding, forcing them to fall into a deep hole. They also came up short in the shootout for the sixth time in seven tries this season.
At the same time, the Golden Knights played exceptionally well in the third period and rallied from a three-goal deficit to tie the game and walk away with a point.
The late finish had a similar vibe to the 6-5 overtime game against Toronto when Vegas tied it late in the third period. There was a noticeable confidence in Vegas’ game, and though the actual equalizer was a bit of a fluke (albeit a skillful play), the momentum had been building throughout the frame.
Vegas didn’t have much in overtime, but Hill made a few great stops on dangerous chances by Dallas, which could be a promising sign as he continues to settle in following his lengthy absence. He finished the game with 23 saves on 27 shots for an .852 save percentage.
The fact that Barbashev got the monkey off his back to snap a 16-game goalless drought is another key takeaway from the loss. He has had his chances but hasn’t been able to capitalize; if this can get him going, that would open things up for the Golden Knights offensively.
The same is true of Smith, who started out on the top line for the second game in a row but was later moved down to Hertl’s unit. However, Smith scored a huge goal to give the Golden Knights some life. Kolesar contributed to the depth scoring as well; though he committed that brutal turnover, he made up for it with a multi-point night.
Marner also finished the contest with two points. He was brought in to be a game-breaker for the Golden Knights, and while he hasn’t demonstrated that ability consistently, he certainly came through with a game-changing play tonight.
Marner said after the game that the Golden Knights will focus on both the negative and positive takeaways from this game.
“Obviously not how you want your second period to go,” he said. “We gave up too many good looks in the slot. Hiller made some good saves when we needed him to, but yeah, great pushback in the third. It’s something we can look forward to and look at tomorrow to see how we can build that in and just be better at the start.”
But at a certain point, the Golden Knights are going to have to do more than talk about better starts in postgame interviews; they need to actually demonstrate it on the ice.
The comebacks are exciting, but they are too taxing, and it’s unrealistic to expect to fight all the way back night after night. Many times, even a strong comeback push — like the game in Boston last week, for example — can fall short.
Now that Vegas is 53 games into the season, words can only go so far. The players have to show it on the ice.
Head coach Bruce Cassidy said the fact that Vegas continues to struggle with the same issues is “baffling,” though he did say that the plethora of injuries has something to do with it. This was particularly true in the faceoff dot against the Stars, one of the league’s top faceoff teams.
But the Golden Knights looked like a completely different team (and the much better team) in the third period. Smith’s clutch shorthanded marker was part of the inspiration behind the rally, but the turnaround began in the locker room.
The Golden Knights had an intermission video session, according to Cassidy, who said it was the first time he’s done that in the middle of a game in his 10 years of coaching.
“We did a video session after the second period,” Cassidy said. “If that’s what it takes to get their attention and get it right, then that’s what we’ll do.”
But there’s still no explanation about why the Golden Knights continue to generate a heightened level of urgency once they are down by multiple goals. At the end of the day, they have to dig deep and find a way to channel that urgency — the same level of desperation with which they played in the two games against Toronto — from the get-go.
Another issue that needs to be addressed is the power play. Though Vegas only had one opportunity, the Golden Knights are 2-for-18 in their last six games.
Vegas will look to end the skid in their weekend back-to-back against Seattle and Anaheim.
Statistics courtesy of NHL.com and Natural Stat Trick.
Photo via Golden Knights