The Vegas Golden Knights (14-6-8) secured their fourth consecutive win with a come-from-behind 3-2 overtime victory against the New York Rangers (15-12-4) Sunday night at Madison Square Garden.
Vegas trailed 2-1 in the final minute of regulation, but Tomas Hertl scored with 52 seconds left in the third period, and Jack Eichel completed the comeback with just eight seconds left in overtime.
The Golden Knights are no strangers to overtime, as this marked the 11th time Vegas has played beyond regulation this season. However, it was just the third time this year (and second time this month) that the Golden Knights came out on top in extra time.
Carter Hart played a key role in helping the Golden Knights come away with two points. He is now 2-0-0 in two starts for Vegas, both of which required overtime. He finished Sunday’s matchup with 21 saves on 23 shots for a .913 save percentage.
The Golden Knights wasted little time in the Big Apple, as Brett Howden scored against his former team just 36 seconds into the contest.
It was all Golden Knights in the opening frame, and it was one of the club’s most dominant frames of the season. Vegas outshot New York 8-3 and led 26-10 in shot attempts and 10-5 in scoring chances, but former Golden Knights netminder Jonathan Quick kept it a one-goal game through 20 minutes.
The Rangers flipped the script in the second period.
New York led 16-6 in shots, 26-13 in shot attempts and 21-8 in scoring chances, tilting the ice completely. It was an exceptionally sloppy frame for the Golden Knights; if not for Hart, the Rangers could have run up the score dramatically.
Even so, the Blueshirts still managed to pull ahead thanks to goals from Mika Zibanejad and Alexis Lafrenière.
Zibanejad capped off one of the Rangers’ most dominant shifts, slamming home a rebound in front to reset the score at 1-1 at 9:08. He had an excellent chance shortly before that, but he wouldn’t be denied the second time around as the Rangers continued to cycle and get pucks to the net.
Four minutes later, Lafrenière put the home team ahead, sending a top-shelf laser over Hart’s shoulder to make it a 2-1 game, a lead the Rangers took into intermission.
It took almost the entire third period, but the Golden Knights eventually broke through with the equalizer.
The goal came at 4-on-4, as Howden and Will Borgen took coincidental minors with 1:58 remaining. This would prove to be important for the Golden Knights for the rest of the game.
Instead of it being 6-on-5 with the goalie pulled, Vegas had a normal power-play (5-on-4) setup, creating more room for the Golden Knights to make a play. Eventually, Hertl pounced on a rebound in front, beating Quick on the backhand to tie things up at 2-2.
With the two seconds of carry-over time on the coincidental minors, overtime started at 4-on-4 instead of the typical 3-on-3 matchup, which has been a significant issue for the Golden Knights all season.
Without whistles, the Golden Knights played the majority of the period at 4-on-4. The only time the puck was dropped after the initial faceoff was on the game-winning goal, with 17 seconds left on the clock.
The Golden Knights ran a set play right off that defensive-zone faceoff, executing it to perfection to win the game.
Howden won the faceoff, and Shea Theodore sent a bank pass off the boards to set up Eichel on a breakaway. Eichel won the foot race, skated into the puck, deked around Quick and put the puck into the back of the net for the 3-2 win.
It was Eichel’s 12th goal of the season, and it helped Vegas improve to 2-0-0 on this five-game road trip.
It wouldn’t be unreasonable to argue that the Golden Knights stole two points in New York. They did some things well, but the Rangers poured on the pressure in the second period, and the Golden Knights weren’t able to break through for almost the entire 60 minutes of regulation.
After scoring in the first minute of the game, Vegas couldn’t solve Quick until the final minute of regulation. In overtime, it came down to the wire once again, and the Golden Knights scored the game-winner with less than 10 seconds on the clock.
Now, the Vegas coaching staff deserves an assist for making a perfect call on that set play, a play that could not have been executed more flawlessly.
However, the Golden Knights didn’t come close to delivering a 60-minute effort. That happens over the course of an 82-game schedule, but they were jarringly sloppy in the second period, and the ice was completely tilted in the Rangers’ favor.
Even so, Vegas was never out of the game, and the Golden Knights never mailed it in. Hart certainly had a hand in that, as he continues to look sharper the more he plays. Plus, it’s a positive sign that the Golden Knights continued to push and fight for chances, and they certainly had plenty.
In fact, Ivan Barbashev had a great look on a breakaway late in the third period, and Vegas had 33 scoring chances in the game, including 14 in the third.
In the end, the Golden Knights led 10-5 in scoring chances in the first period and 14-2 in the third, while the Rangers held a 21-8 edge in the middle frame, per Natural Stat Trick.
The second period, however, was one of the sloppiest 20 minutes Vegas has turned in this season. Hart had to bail out his teammates; though he allowed two goals on 16 shots, it could have been four or five. The Rangers came at Vegas with everything they had, and it could have put the game out of reach. Hart kept Vegas in the game, but that’s not a practical model for success.
There’s no way of proving this one way or the other, but the fact that the Golden Knights were able to avoid 3-on-3 very likely played a role in the outcome of the game. It was only because of Hart that Vegas won Monday’s game against Chicago, as the Golden Knights were completely outplayed in the extra frame. There’s a reason the Golden Knights lead the league with eight points in losses suffered in overtime and shootouts.
But tonight, the Golden Knights were able to avoid 3-on-3 until the final shift, during which they ran a set play.
Howden had a fantastic night from start to finish, scoring in the first minute on the road, getting the matching roughing minors late in the third and winning the draw on the game-winner. His intensity was on another level against his former team; if he could bring that more often, the Golden Knights would be a much more dangerous opponent.
When Vegas needed a goal, the top players came through.
Mark Stone kept the play alive in front of the net late in the third, and Hertl came through to take care of the rebound. Eichel called game with a smooth and skillful finish, and Hart made an especially timely save on a short-side shot by Zibanejad in overtime.
At the end of the day, no one asks how, only how many, and the Golden Knights walked away with a big two points.
They will look to extend their four-game winning streak when they take on the Islanders, Flyers and Blue Jackets on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, respectively.
Statistics courtesy of Natural Stat Trick.