The Vegas Golden Knights (29-19-14) pulled off an improbable come-from-behind victory when they scored three straight goals to defeat the Detroit Red Wings (35-20-7) 4-3 in overtime Wednesday night at Little Caesars Arena.
Tomas Hertl scored the game-winning goal on the power play 2:11 into the extra frame to complete the comeback effort.
It was a critical win for the Golden Knights, who were in danger of dropping four games in a row. Instead, they picked up an important two points to buy a little bit of breathing room atop the Pacific Division standings.
Captain Mark Stone missed his second straight game, but newly-acquired winger Cole Smith made his Vegas debut, skating on the fourth line and recording one shot and one hit in 14:15.
For a change, the Golden Knights were the first team on the board thanks to Reilly Smith’s 11th goal of the season just 1:50 into the contest. Mitch Marner made an excellent pass from behind the net to set it up.
But the Red Wings bounced back with three goals in the opening frame.
Vegas held the 1-0 lead for just four minutes and eight seconds before Emmitt Finnie reset the score with a shot that beat Adin Hill through traffic. Vegas blew the coverage on the play, as the high slot was left completely unattended.
Just over 10 minutes later, the Red Wings added two more goals in the span of just 59 seconds.
First, Simon Edvinsson made his way to the middle of the zone as the trailer and beat Hill from the low slot on another instance of blown coverage in the defensive end.
But unlike the first two, Detroit’s third goal was completely on Hill, who whiffed on what should have been a routine save. Instead, a deep shot by Alex DeBrincat got past him glove-side to give the home team a 3-1 lead after 20 minutes.
Aside from one or two plays here and there, Vegas’ offense in the second period consisted primarily of Marner, who had an excellent game. But neither team lit the lamp, setting up a fourth straight third period in which Vegas trailed by multiple goals.
This time, however, Vegas was able to rally.
Ivan Barbashev cut the deficit to one with his 19th of the season at 11:37. His second goal in two games came as a result of a fortuitous bounce, as Rasmus Andersson tried to tip a point shot but instead sent the puck to Barbashev’s stick. The Golden Knights were rewarded for going back to the basics: getting the puck to the net, getting sticks on pucks and driving to the net.
Fittingly, the best Golden Knight on the ice all game was the one who scored the all-important equalizer. Marner set a screen on the initial shot and then collected Hertl’s wraparound bid before beating Cam Talbot with 3:24 remaining in regulation.
There were some tense moments when the Red Wings got their fourth power play of the game 61 seconds later, but a big save by Hill, a strong effort by Andersson and some puck luck for the Golden Knights proved to be pivotal, helping the Golden Knights hold on for overtime.
The Golden Knights continued to push in overtime, and an excellent play (one of many on the night) by Braeden Bowman drew a penalty to set up a Vegas power play.
Hertl struck 19 seconds into the man-advantage for the game-winner.
After collecting a pass from Marner, Hertl took his time, spun around and fired the puck past Talbot to complete the comeback and help Vegas walk away with both points.
The Golden Knights certainly were not at their best when they took on the Red Wings in the second half of a back-to-back. That being said, they did what they had to do to win, and it was an important win.
They returned to their roots with another overtime appearance, where a strong play by Bowman set up an opportunity. The Golden Knights didn’t hesitate, they capitalized.
Marner was outstanding all night. He led the team with six scoring chances, five of which were high-danger chances, per Natural Stat Trick. He also recorded three points, with two primary assists and the game-tying goal late in the third period.
Though Hill gave up an inexcusable goal to make it a 3-1 game, he shut the door the rest of the way and made a few key saves in the third period. He finished the game with 23 saves on 26 shots for an .885 save percentage.
The penalty kill was a key factor in the win, as it went 4-for-4. The kill at the end of the third period was particularly significant.
“It takes a collective effort to get the job done [on the penalty kill],” Noah Hanifin said. “We had some big kills at crucial times of the game, and that kept us in it. Fortunately, we were able to crawl back.”
Cole Smith saw 4:01 of ice time on the penalty kill in his Vegas debut, trailing just Marner (4:03) and three defensemen, who played 4:04.
Bruce Cassidy was impressed with Cole Smith’s performance and was pleased with the fourth line, which finished the game with a 72.84 percent expected goal share in 8:22 of ice time.
“Cole Smith is as advertised,” the Vegas bench boss said. “When he got the puck, he wanted to play behind [the Red Wings]. … I like the fact that you know what you’re going to get out of [the fourth line]. … Good first impression.”
The other Smith helped the Golden Knights get off to a better start with the first goal of the game, but Vegas still ran into the same problem of being forced to chase for most of the game.
“We’re not used to losing this many in a row,” Cassidy said. “Typically, it doesn’t sit well with our guys. … Good for them to respond. Not the start we wanted, but we hung in there.”
Once again, the Golden Knights got better as the game wore on, particularly in the third period.
“I think we did a lot of good things tonight,” Hanifin said. “Obviously, a couple tough bounces early, but we played a good game, especially in the third period. We controlled play and had a lot of looks, and [Talbot] made some great saves.”
Hanifin believes a win like this can do a lot for the team’s confidence moving forward.
“We’re at our best when we’re playing aggressive,” he said. “It’s just about getting to that game. Sometimes it just takes a game like tonight, where bounces go your way a little bit, to get some confidence back, some swagger back. And then you can go attack the game. When we’re aggressive and on our toes, we’re a good team, so that’s what we have to do, and we just have to build off the win tonight.”
The win helped the Golden Knights wrap up their five-game road trip with a 2-3-0 record. They will return home to take on the Wild Friday night in the first game following the trade deadline (Friday at noon). They will then host Edmonton on Sunday before heading to Dallas. Six of Vegas’ next seven games will be played at T-Mobile Arena.
Statistics courtesy of Natural Stat Trick.
Photo courtesy of the Golden Knights