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Golden Knights extend winning streak to five games with 3-2 OT victory against Capitals

Posted on by Jillian Wagner

The Vegas Golden Knights pulled off the comeback win with a 3-2 overtime victory against the Washington Capitals Tuesday night at Capital One Arena.

The Golden Knights erased two one-goal deficits and then came out on top in overtime for the second game in a row, extending their winning streak to five games and improving their record to 9-2-0 on the year.

This is the Golden Knights’ best start in franchise history after going 8-2-1 in 2021.

William Carrier tied the game with 5:56 remaining in the third period, and Shea Theodore netted the game-winner off a slick feed from Jack Eichel just 1:35 into extra time.

It wasn’t Vegas’ best effort all-around, but the Golden Knights had the upper hand in the third period and carried that momentum to the finish line.

However, the Capitals were in the lead for more than 48 minutes of the game, starting 3:39 into the contest.

Though Vegas had a great scoring chance early, the Golden Knights took an undisciplined penalty, which proved to be costly.

Marcus Johansson scored on a one-timer in front off a behind-the-net feed from Dylan Strome. Logan Thompson had no chance on the play as the shot got redirected off the stick of Alec Martinez before finding twine.

Late in the first period, Reilly Smith took a frightening spill into the boards after Capitals defenseman Martin Fehervary made contact. Fehervary didn’t do much, and it wasn’t intentional, but it drew the ire of Jonathan Marchessault and the Golden Knights.

Smith went to the locker room but was back on the bench at the start of the second period.

In his absence, the Golden Knights managed to even things up, with the equalizer coming on the power play.

Eichel, fresh off his last-second heroics against Winnipeg, got Vegas on the board with just 65 seconds remaining in the opening frame, threading the needle with a pinpoint shot to make it a 1-1 game.

Much like his goal in Winnipeg, Eichel took advantage of the open ice he was afforded, skated around and then picked his spot.

Chandler Stephenson recorded the primary assist on the play against his former team.

The Golden Knights held Washington without a shot in the final 5:50 of the period, but the Capitals got the first five of the second period, one of which found the back of the net.

Trevor van Riemsdyk scored right off the faceoff just 61 seconds into the second, giving the Capitals their second lead of the game on a screened shot that beat Thompson short-side.

But Thompson shut the door the rest of the way, finishing the game with 19 saves on 21 shots for a .905 save percentage.

The second period was relatively quiet for the Golden Knights, who were outplayed. The Golden Knights had a good chance late in the period, but Charlie Lindgren came up with a big stop to preserve Washington’s one-goal lead.

It was his second big save of the game after robbing Marchessault early in the first period.

In the third period, the Golden Knights got caught trying to make the perfect play, and the combination of over-passing and active sticks by Washington broke up a lot of chances before they truly materialized. Lindgren made a few key saves, including a point-blank stop on Mark Stone.

But the Golden Knights continued to tilt the ice in their favor and eventually broke through, getting rewarded with a blast by William Carrier to even things up at 2-2 with 5:56 remaining in the period.

It was a great finish, but it was William Karlsson who made the play as he won a race to the puck and sent a perfect centering feed to set up Carrier fresh off the bench.

The Capitals almost scored a heart-breaking last-second goal at the end of regulation, but the puck crossed the goal line after the clock had run out.

For the second game in a row, Vegas headed to overtime.

For the second game in a row, Vegas won in overtime.

Once again, Eichel stepped up with a fantastic individual effort, creating time and space as he weaved through defenders and skated around the zone until Theodore was able to break in unopposed.

Theodore collected the flip pass and buried the game-winner at 1:35 of the extra frame.

It was Theodore’s franchise-leading seventh overtime game-winning goal; he also scored a game-winning overtime goal against the Capitals last season.

Alex Pietrangelo recorded the secondary assist on the play; he assisted on all three Vegas goals, bringing his season total to nine assists in 11 games.

It wasn’t Vegas’ best effort, but the Golden Knights stayed with it and made a real push in the third period.

In fact, the Golden Knights outshot Washington 10-4 in the third period and 12-4 in the third period and overtime. They held a 17-9 edge in Corsi, 7-3 edge in scoring chances and a 76.83 expected goal share at 5-on-5.

The Golden Knights’ five-game road trip continues Thursday night in Ottawa.

Talking Points