The Vegas Golden Knights were unable to string together back-to-back wins on their two-game road trip but still came away with a point in a 4-3 overtime loss to the Seattle Kraken Friday night at Climate Pledge Arena.
Vegas tied the game late with the extra attacker on the ice, but Jared McCann scored just 29 seconds into the extra frame to hand Vegas its first-ever loss at Climate Pledge Arena.
McCann capitalized on a turnover by Jack Eichel before beating Adin Hill on the breakaway. It was the third turnover that ended up in the back of Vegas’ net.
The Golden Knights are now 1-3-2 on the road this season and 9-3-2 overall; the extra point gives them 20 on the year, which is still good for first in the Pacific Division.
It was Vegas’ first game against Chandler Stephenson since the center signed with Seattle in free agency. The Golden Knights held their former teammate off the scoresheet, but it was Stephenson who walked away victorious. He finished the game with four shots in 23:09, playing nearly six minutes more than every other Kraken forward and trailing only teammates Jamie Oleksiak and Brandon Montour, both of whom are defensemen (Eichel led all forwards in the game with 23:45).
Notably, the Golden Knights were without captain Mark Stone, who is considered day-to-day with a lower-body injury.
In his stead, Nicolas Roy stepped up on the top line and top power-play unit, and he didn’t look out of place. In fact, he was involved with both of the Golden Knights’ first-period goals.
The Golden Knights had a full two-minute 5-on-3, and they made the most of it. Roy collected a pass from Eichel, and, doing his best Stone impression, quickly sent the puck across to Pavel Dorofeyev, who buried the one-timer for his eighth of the season.
Less than four minutes later, Roy found twine himself.
The Golden Knights put on an absolute clinic in the offensive zone, collecting loose pucks and completing pass after pass in almost dizzying fashion, which left Seattle scrambling. The end result? Ivan Barbashev found Roy alone in front, and Roy made no mistake as he potted his fourth of the season.
But the first key turnover of the game allowed the Kraken to pull within one before the end of the opening frame, as an ill-advised pass along the blue line by Brayden McNabb was picked off by Brandon Tanev, who scored on the ensuing breakaway.
The Golden Knights were outplayed in the second period once again, as Seattle held a 13-5 edge in shots and 6-2 advantage in high-danger attempts at all strengths, per Natural Stat Trick.
Tanev scored his second of the game courtesy of a turnover by Alex Pietrangelo, evening things up at 2-2 just over seven minutes into the period.
The Kraken scored their third consecutive goal when Hill’s pokecheck attempt backfired, as the puck deflected off Oliver Bjorkstrand and found its way into the cage.
The Golden Knights continued to push, and head coach Bruce Cassidy pulled Hill with just under three minutes remaining in the third.
The gamble paid off, as a Pietrangelo point shot hit a Seattle defender in the slot and slid past Joey Daccord to force overtime.
However, careless puck management by Eichel early in overtime sent McCann on a clear-cut breakaway, and McCann beat Hill on a backhand deke for the extra point and the 4-3 OT win.
The Golden Knights earned three of a possible four points (1-0-1) on the two-game road trip, which is a marked improvement after starting the year 0-3-1.
That being said, Vegas failed to capitalize on chances in tight, leaving pucks in and around the crease on multiple occasions. The Golden Knights also had a power play in the second half of the final frame but were unable to convert.
They did tie the game late after a strong push in the third period, which is an important step.
But in the end, the Golden Knights beat themselves with three costly turnovers, all of which were avoidable.
McNabb’s pass let Seattle get back in the game after a very strong start for Vegas, while Pietrangelo’s gaffe gave the Kraken their first lead of the game.
Going into overtime, the Golden Knights had the momentum, but Eichel’s lackluster play in the neutral zone prevented them from even attempting to complete the comeback in overtime.
Roy had a strong game as a stand-in for Stone with a two-point night, and Eichel assisted on all three Vegas goals, giving him the team lead in points with 22. Plus, Dorofeyev continues to improve and impress game after game, and Cole Schwindt was effective as the fourth-line center.
But Vegas is still very much a work in progress on the road.
For now, the Golden Knights will focus on returning home for one game to host William Carrier and the Carolina Hurricanes, though it will be a challenging matchup as the Hurricanes have won eight in a row and are 10-2-0 on the year.
Correction: The article previously misstated that Michael Amadio is on the Hurricanes; it was corrected to William Carrier.