The Golden Knights overtime loss on Wednesday came after a furious comeback and a dominant final 40 minutes, but Vegas still fell 4-3 in a shootout to the Ottawa Senators at T-Mobile Arena. The Knights erased a 3-1 deficit and outshot Ottawa 35-23, yet their struggles past regulation continued with a seventh straight loss in games going beyond 60 minutes.

Stone returns and sparks Vegas’ push

Mark Stone scored in his first game back after missing 16 contests with a wrist injury, jump-starting a Vegas surge that tilted the ice for the rest of the night. His third-period power-play goal tied the game at 3-3, and the captain generated multiple takeaways as the Knights controlled possession.

“I think we totally controlled the second and third period,” Stone said. “We had every opportunity to end the game, just couldn’t capitalize.”

Vegas outshot Ottawa 22-12 over the final two periods and allowed almost nothing defensively.

Slow start keeps haunting this team

The game’s turning point remained the opening 20 minutes. Ottawa struck three times, including a backbreaker with 17 seconds left in the first, putting Vegas in another early hole.

“That first goal has no right going in,” coach Bruce Cassidy said. “Their goalie won them the game. We had looks from Mitch (Marner), Jack (Eichel), Theo (Theodore) — he made big saves and stopped all three in the shootout.”

Brett Howden opened the scoring for Vegas in the first period, finishing a feed from Marner. Eichel added his 11th of the season midway through the second, pulling the Knights within one before Stone’s tying goal in the third.

OT issues continue despite better execution

Cassidy praised the team’s overtime structure but pointed again to finishing.

“We’ve had 17 overtime shots this year and essentially no goals,” he said. “We had the best chance tonight. It hit the bar.”

In the shootout, Pavel Dorofeyev missed wide before Eichel and Marner were both stopped by Linus Ullmark, leaving Vegas scoreless in all three attempts.

Takeaway

Vegas keeps earning points, but until the slow starts and missed OT chances shift, the margins will stay razor thin. The Golden Knights are 10-5-8 with 28 points and sit second in the Pacific Division behind Anaheim. Ottawa moves to 12-7-4 with 28 points and stays near the top of the Atlantic.

Vegas does not get much time to reset. The Knights return to T-Mobile Arena on Friday afternoon to face Montreal, which enters at 12-7-3. It is another opponent that plays fast and attacks off the rush, a style that has challenged Vegas during this recent stretch.

A sharper start and a finish or two in overtime could be the difference between another point and a needed win.

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