April 10, 2026<\/a><\/p>\nA continued Kraken surge led to an extended shift in Vegas\u2019 end, with the road team unable to get a clear. Bobby McMann capitalized, resetting the score at 10:44 to make it a brand new ballgame.<\/p>\n
The Golden Knights had multiple grade-A chances in overtime, though they also surrendered several odd-man rushes. However, neither team was able to pull ahead, setting up a shootout between two of the worst shootout teams in the league.<\/p>\n
The Kraken came out on top 2-1 thanks to goals from Matty Beniers and Catton. Mitch Marner scored the lone shootout goal for Vegas.<\/p>\n
This marked the first time the Golden Knights faced real adversity under Tortorella, whose record moves to 4-0-1 through his first five games.<\/p>\n
The turning point of the game came on the bad bounce that ended up in Vegas\u2019 net to make it a 3-2 game at 6:11 of the third period.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a tough bounce,\u201d Howden said. \u201cI think maybe they created a little momentum off of that. They\u2019re a fast team. They got a bounce there, and they kind of rolled with it. But for the most part, I liked our intentions and the way we were trying to play, and we still got a point, which is huge.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tortorella echoed this sentiment.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt gives them life,\u201d he said about the unlucky play. \u201cWe score one early in the period to go up by two, looking to try to take the will away from them. They get a bounce, gives them some life. Nothing we can do. We\u2019ll take the point and get out of here.\u201d<\/p>\n
But at 3-2, the Kraken kept their foot on the gas, pulling even at 9:16 and forcing overtime.<\/p>\n
Throughout the season, the Golden Knights have struggled to stop the bleeding when things go wrong. However, Howden said that wasn\u2019t a factor tonight.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt wasn\u2019t like once they got one, they were really hemming us in and really keeping us in our zone,\u201d he said. \u201cI don\u2019t think that was an issue tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tortorella emphasized multiple times that he has no intention of overanalyzing this game or the outcome.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe just move by it,\u201d he said. \u201cAll we\u2019re trying to do here is take each day at a time and try to get the best results we can. A lot of good things tonight, had some posts early on in the game. Give [Seattle] credit. They surge at certain times, they\u2019re a fast team. I\u2019m not gonna overdissect it. It\u2019s not the time of year to be overdissecting. We\u2019ll grab this point, get on the plane and get out to Colorado.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tortorella\u2019s lone critique of Vegas\u2019 performance was its inability to exit the zone cleanly, though he minimized its significance.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s not a chance that I\u2019m gonna overthink, overevaluate and overcoach with such short strokes left here,\u201d he said. \u201cI think the team knows how we need to play. I think for the most part they have done it. The biggest point for me is we spent too much time in our end zone, and we didn\u2019t get out clean. So we\u2019ll look at some of that, and then we\u2019ll go.\u201d<\/p>\n
Admittedly, not much could have been done on the Catton goal, but the Golden Knights failed to get back on track and stumbled in the defensive end when the Kraken knotted things up at 3-3. From there, the Golden Knights were unable to finish their chances, including a few prime opportunities in extra time. On the flip side, they surrendered several odd-man rushes in overtime that could have ended the game. Eventually, they lost the skills competition for the eighth time in nine tries this season.<\/p>\n
Hill wasn\u2019t terrible but wasn\u2019t great, though he did give his team multiple chances to recover with a solid effort in overtime and in the shootout. He finished the game with 30 saves on 33 shots for a .909 save percentage.<\/p>\n
Stone hasn\u2019t been the same player since the Olympic break, but he scored two goals in this one and was around the net all night. Howden, Vegas\u2019 other goal-scorer, has found twine in three out of his last four games.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s very versatile,\u201d Tortorella said. \u201cCan put him at center. It allows me to move some people around on different lines where he can play both wing and center. As I\u2019m beginning to find out more and more, he\u2019s a pretty important guy for this club.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Golden Knights will quickly move on focus their attention on Saturday\u2019s game against the league-best Colorado Avalanche, who clinched the Presidents\u2019 Trophy Thursday night.<\/p>\n
The Golden Knights will conclude this four-game road trip in Denver before wrapping up the regular season with home tilts against Winnipeg and Seattle next week.<\/p>\n
Photo courtesy of the Golden Knights<\/p>\n
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