The Vegas Golden Knights held a 2-1 lead after two periods but gave up four unanswered goals in the third period in a 5-2 loss to the Los Angeles Kings Monday night at Crypto.com Arena.
The loss snapped Vegas’ three-game winning streak as well as its seven-game winning streak against Pacific Division opponents. The Kings improved their league-best home record to 19-3-2 with the come-from-behind victory.
Los Angeles opened the scoring on a power-play goal by Trevor Moore 10:30 into the first period.
The Golden Knights went almost 15 minutes between shots in the first but had a few excellent chances at the tail end of the period, including a great look by Nicolas Roy and a prime chance for Raphael Lavoie. However, Darcy Kuemper and the Kings’ tight defense kept Vegas off the board through 20 minutes.
However, the Golden Knights bounced back with a strong middle frame, outshooting the Kings 8-4 and outscoring them 2-0 to take a 2-1 lead into the third period.
Brayden McNabb evened things up at 1-1 at 10:26 off a great feed by Tomas Hertl, who drew three Kings to him, leaving McNabb open for the deep blast.
Kaedan Korczak recorded the secondary assist on the play, giving him points in back-to-back games since stepping in for the injured Shea Theodore.
Mark Stone gave Vegas its first lead of the night when he tipped a Noah Hanifin shot with 3:19 left in the second for his 15th of the year.
It was the second standout play by Hanifin in the period after he saved a goal by clearing the crease when the puck squeaked through Ilya Samsonov.
But Hanifin and the Golden Knights fell apart in the third period, as the Kings scored four unanswered goals, starting with Moore’s second of the game that came just 42 seconds into the frame.
Warren Foegele made it 3-2 with 11:29 remaining, scoring on a backhand after the Golden Knights were unable to clear the zone. The goal came right after a successful penalty kill and proved to be the game-winner.
The Kings extended their lead on Joel Edmundson’s fifth of the season. It was the Kings’ third goal on just six shots, and it put Vegas in a two-goal deficit with 4:32 on the clock.
Los Angeles continued to pile it on when Kevin Fiala made it 5-2 just over two minutes later. It was the Kings’ third goal on their previous four shots.
Vegas outshot Los Angeles 23-19 on the night but fell far short of closing out the win. Samsonov finished the game with 14 saves on 19 shots for a .737 save percentage.
The Golden Knights got off to a slow start, found their game in the second period and then proceeded to crumble in an uncharacteristically disastrous third. In the end, Vegas delivered a 20-minute effort against the best home team in the NHL, which is not going to get it done.
The Golden Knights held Los Angeles to zero goals at 5-on-5 through 40 minutes before yielding four on seven shots in the third. It marked the most goals Vegas has surrendered in a third period all season.
Vegas’ fourth line trailed 14-4 in shot attempts, gave up a goal and managed just a 7.12 percent expected goal share in 9:55, playing almost as much as the top line (10:13), per Natural Stat Trick. But Vegas’ top players, particularly Jack Eichel and Alex Pietrangelo, were not good enough. Pietrangelo was a team-worst minus-four and was on the ice for all four goals in the third period.
The Kings (31-17-7) are now five points behind Vegas (34-18-6) with three games in hand. The loss also means the Golden Knights failed to extend their lead over the Edmonton Oilers, who trail by two points but now have a game in hand.
The Golden Knights will return home for a five-game homestand starting Thursday against the Chicago Blackhawks. The final game of the homestand will be a March 9 tilt against the Kings as the two rivals wrap up the season series. Los Angeles has won two of the first three, all of which have been decided in regulation. The home team has won every game, all by at least three goals.