The Vegas Golden Knights attacked in overtime, which paid off quickly.
Max Pacioretty scored on a backhander just 51 seconds into overtime, giving the Golden Knights a 3-2 victory over the Dallas Stars on Friday night.
Vegas coach Gerard Gallant opted to start overtime with his top scorers, Pacioretty and Mark Stone, and the decision worked out.
“In the defensive zone, I worry a little, but offensively, no,” Gallant said. “They’re two great hockey players, and I wanted them out there. We tried something new, and it paid off.”
Dallas’ Jamie Benn tied the game with 5:11 left in regulation. He completed a give-and-go with Tyler Seguin, passing from behind the net before skating into the slot to deflect Seguin’s return pass past Vegas goalie Malcolm Subban.
Taylor Fedun put the Stars ahead 1-0 in the first period, but Vegas responded in the second with goals from William Karlsson and newly acquired Chandler Stephenson, taking a 2-1 lead.
“You could see the difference when we played as a unit of five,” Pacioretty said. “We made life hard for Dallas’ forwards on the blue lines. We deserved to come out with the win.”
Subban made 28 saves for his first career win against Dallas.
Ben Bishop also stopped 28 shots for the Stars, who had won three straight games and 10 of their last 11 home games.
Fedun, filling in for John Klingberg, who missed the game due to a family illness, scored his second-season goal. He had been a healthy scratch for the past six games but was informed just an hour before the puck drop that he would play.
“You have to perform, no matter what’s happening behind the scenes,” Fedun said. “You just find a way to get it done.”
Fedun’s goal was the only one out of 16 shots in the first period to beat Subban.
“Malcolm was huge for us in the first period,” Gallant said. “He faced a lot of good scoring chances and was the difference early on.”
The Golden Knights took control in the second period. Karlsson tied the game at 1 with a snap shot 4:20 into the period, and Vegas took the lead when Stephenson eluded Fedun and fired a wrist shot past Bishop from the left circle.
Stephenson, who was acquired from Washington, has been a key contributor for Vegas, recording two goals and an assist in six games.
“I didn’t know much about him before he came here,” Pacioretty said. “But as you saw tonight, he’s fast and has a phenomenal shot.”
Game Notes:
- Vegas forward Cody Eakin missed his seventh straight game with an upper-body injury.
- Jonathan Marchessault’s assistance with Karlsson’s goal marked his 100th career point.
- Mark Stone and Shea Theodore each contributed two assists for Vegas.
- Neither team scored on the power play, with both teams going 0 for 2.
- The Stars have killed all 12 penalties in their last five games.
- Former Stars players Sergei Zubov and Guy Carbonneau, who were recently inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, were honored in a pregame ceremony. They joined fellow Hall of Famers Ed Belfour, Brett Hull, Mike Modano, and Joe Nieuwendyk as part of Dallas’ 1999 Stanley Cup-winning team now in the Hall of Fame.
UP NEXT:
- Golden Knights: Host Vancouver on Sunday in the first of two home games.
- Stars: Travel to Nashville for a game on Saturday.