On Sunday, the Vegas Golden Knights (14-6-8) played the second of a five-game road trip against the New York Rangers (15-12-4). After jumping out to an early lead, they sleepwalked through the second period and found themselves in a hole. Tomáš Hertl scored with the goalie pulled, and Jack Eichel called game in overtime.

The Golden Knights broke the ice just 36 seconds into the first period. Mark Stone intercepted Vladislav Gavrikov’s pass intended for Alexis Lafrenière and backhanded a pass to Mitch Marner all alone between the hashmarks. Marner spun and found Brett Howden, who scored five-hole.  

The Rangers responded with a few good shifts, but the Golden Knights dominated the majority of the period. They outshot the Rangers 8-3 in the first, generated five high-danger scoring chances to New York’s two, and controlled 73.61% of the expected goal share. 

After an even start to the second period, the Rangers tilted the ice. They outshot the Golden Knights 17-6 and generated 11 high-danger chances to Vegas’ three. Carter Hart was very good, but New York’s onslaught was better.

The Rangers got on the board at 9:08 in the second period. After Mika Zibanejad sent Matthew Robertson’s rebound through the crease, Artemi Panarin got the puck back to the point. Alexis Lafrenière tipped Robertson’s shot, and Zibanejad redeemed himself for his earlier miss. 

The Rangers took the lead at 13:01 in the second. Mika Zibanejad threaded a cross-ice pass to Alexis Lafrenière, who was all alone in the right circle. Lafrenière stepped into his shot and went bar-down. 

The Golden Knights woke up in the third period and wrestled back control of the game. They outshot the Rangers 13-3 and generated six high-danger scoring chances to New York’s one. Carter Hart made a few timely saves to prevent the Rangers from widening the gap.

Finally, the Golden Knights’ hard work paid off. Brett Howden and Will Borgen took matching roughing penalties, setting up a 5-on-4 for the Golden Knights with the goalie pulled. 

The Golden Knights found the equalizer at 19:08 in the third period. Jonathan Quick turned away Jack Eichel’s blast from the left circle, plus Mark Stone’s bid on the rebound. However, he couldn’t deny Tomáš Hertl, who finally chipped the puck in.

Tomáš Hertl has a three-game goal streak. Eichel with the blast, Hertl chips it home, and the Golden Knights score with the goalie pulled.

2-2

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— Hannah Kirkell (@h_kirk6) December 8, 2025

In overtime, the Rangers controlled the opening face-off, but couldn’t do anything with their extended possession or their lone high-danger scoring chance. 

The Golden Knights sealed the deal with eight seconds remaining in overtime. Brett Howden won a defensive face-off back to Shea Theodore, who banked a Hail Mary stretch-pass towards the other end of the rink. Jack Eichel raced up ice, blew past Artemi Panarin, beat Matthew Robertson to the puck, and went backhand-forehand to score on the breakaway.

Brett Howden wins the draw. Shea Theodore sends a bank pass up ice and Jack Eichel scores on a breakaway.

The Golden Knights… won in OT. 3-2 final

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— Hannah Kirkell (@h_kirk6) December 8, 2025

Three stars of the game: Jack Eichel, Tomáš Hertl, Alexis Lafrenière

7 Golden Knights Observations

1. For the 12th time this season, the Golden Knights scored the first goal of the game. They have a record of 9-1-2 when scoring first.

2. The Golden Knights really were good in the first period. Honestly, it was probably one of their better first periods all season. They forechecked hard, won puck battles, and forced turnovers. However, they were only able to get one past Jonathan Quick, and it almost came back to haunt them. 

3. Carter Hart played well in his second start with the Golden Knights. The rest of the team took the second period off, and if not for Hart’s play, they would have entered the second intermission down significantly more than one. He finished the night with 21 saves and a .99 GSAx.

4. The former Ranger Brett Howden loves himself a revenge game. He scored the opening goal and took a matching roughing penalty that set the stage for the Golden Knights to tie the game late. In overtime, he won the face-off that led to Jack Eichel’s game-winner.

5. Slowly but surely, Kaedan Korczak is earning the trust of the coaching staff. He played 17:27 tonight, which is the second-highest TOI he’s logged this season. 

6. Pavel Dorofeyev hasn’t scored in nine games, and he has just one goal in his past 14. He’s still shooting at 15.9%, so this drought is probably just his hot start regressing to the mean. But, boy, the Golden Knights miss his scoring.

7. The Golden Knights ran the gauntlet in November, going 5-4-5 against some of the best teams in the league. Now, they have their sights set on calmer waters. Their next four games are against struggling Metropolitan Division teams, and they very well could win out. They’ve won four straight, and they’re one point behind the Anaheim Ducks for control of the Pacific Division with a game in hand.