The only thing Braeden Bowman didn’t do in his successful NHL debut was find the back of the net. He opted to do that in his second game instead.
The 22-year-old right wing scored his first NHL goal, and the Golden Knights snapped a four-game losing streak with a 4-1 win over the St. Louis Blues at Enterprise Center on Saturday night.
Bowman, who was called up from Henderson on Wednesday, scored a power-play goal with 5:02 remaining in the first period to give the Knights a 2-0 lead. Bowman planted himself at the weak side of the crease and finished the feed from left wing Pavel Dorofeyev.
“It’s really a dream come true,” Bowman said. “The guys have been awesome, just supporting me the whole way. Super proud to get that moment tonight.”
BRAEDEN BOWMAN ⚔️
He’s got his first NHL goal in just his second game! pic.twitter.com/ikK22wi4by
— NHL (@NHL) November 16, 2025
It capped off an eventful few days for Bowman, starting with a top-six role and reps on the first power play unit Thursday night in a 4-3 overtime loss to the New York Islanders.
On Saturday, Bowman found himself on the top line with center Jack Eichel and left wing Ivan Barbashev. The undrafted forward finished with four shots in 16:08.
“It means a lot of hard work and dedication put to that,” Bowman said. “It’s just one, so we go on from there.”
Left wing Brandon Saad scored his first goal of the season 2:06 before Bowman’s goal, and defenseman Noah Hanifin scored 36 seconds into the second period for the Knights (8-4-5), who hit the road after losing five of a seasonlong six-game homestand.
Goaltender Akira Schmid made 22 saves, and center Tomas Hertl scored for the third straight game.
Schmid carried a shutout into the third period before Blues defenseman Philip Broberg scored with 4:03 remaining.
“We got a few saves early from Schmid, then we seemed to settle in,” coach Bruce Cassidy said. “I think it helped in scoring the first goal.”
St. Louis (6-9-4) lost for the 10th time in 13 games (3-7-3).
The Knights continue their mini road trip Sunday against the Minnesota Wild at Grand Casino Arena in the second leg of a back-to-back. Carl Lindbom will start in net.
Here are three takeaways from the win:
1. Saad on the board
Saad had plenty of chances before finding the back of the net Saturday, even as recently as seven shots on Nov. 4 against Detroit.
His goal opened the scoring. Center Brett Howden kept the puck in play off a turnover, he passed to right wing Reilly Smith who passed it to Saad for the five-hole finish.
What a return to St. Louis for Brandon Saad 🤩 pic.twitter.com/IUiOGfYsIC
— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) November 16, 2025
“I feel like I’ve been champing at the bit there the past few games, so it’s nice for it to go.”
The goal was even sweeter for Saad given it was against his former team. Saad signed with the Knights in January after his contract was terminated by the Blues after not reporting to their American Hockey League affiliate.
“I think we just played with good structure,” Saad said. “We played with pace, we created turnovers and capitalized on our chances.”
2. Power play comes through
The man advantage has looked better since the Knights went back to a five-forward look. It was rewarded with just its fourth goal in the last 11 games.
The power play finished 1-for-3 and is now 4-for-37 since Oct. 20, but it took another step forward.
“Let’s face it: It hasn’t been clean as it was earlier,” Cassidy said. “At the end of the day, we still have lots of good players. It should be better than what it’s been, so that’s good (to get one).”
Bowman has been decisive in his decision making when getting the puck below the goal line. It worked in his favor with Dorofeyev finding him on his goal.
3. Hart assigned to Henderson
The Knights assigned goaltender Carter Hart to the Silver Knights on a conditioning loan on Saturday as his NHL return draws near.
Hart, 27, signed a two-year, $4 million contract with the Knights on Oct. 24 after he was acquitted of sexual assault in July following a trial involving Canada’s 2018 World Junior team. Hart hasn’t played in the NHL since January 2024, when he was with the Philadelphia Flyers.
Hart is expected to start for the Silver Knights on Sunday against the Calgary Wranglers at Lee’s Family Forum. He backed up Jesper Vikman on Saturday.
Hart is eligible to play for the Knights on Dec. 1. The expectation is he will share the crease with Schmid for the foreseeable future, as Adin Hill is expected to be out through Christmas with a lower-body injury.
Schmid improved to 7-1-2 this season and has earned points in his last five starts (3-0-2).
Contact Danny Webster at dwebster@reviewjournal.com. Follow @DannyWebster21 on X.
Up next
Who: Golden Knights at Wild
When: 3 p.m. Sunday
Where: Grand Casino Arena, St. Paul, Minnesota
TV: KMCC-34
Radio: KKGK (1340 AM/98.9 FM)
Line: Knights -125; total 6 1/2