Reilly Smith scored the game-winning goal in overtime, lifting the Vegas Golden Knights to a 5-4 victory over the St. Louis Blues on Friday night, snapping Vegas’ two-game losing streak.
Smith’s power-play goal came with 2:22 left in overtime, following a pass from Jonathan Marchessault. The goal ended a five-game power-play drought for the Golden Knights.
“Our power play hasn’t been working like we want it to,” Smith said. “But sometimes you just need to put the puck on the net and score an ugly one. That’s what we need to focus on more.”
Mark Stone, Tomas Nosek, Alec Martinez, and Marchessault also found the back of the net for Vegas. Marc-Andre Fleury, who was cleared to play after a false positive COVID-19 test, made 19 saves in the win.
Fleury had spent the previous day and a half in his hotel room after testing positive upon arriving in St. Louis.
“He wasn’t able to follow his usual pregame routine,” said Vegas coach Pete DeBoer. “Despite that, he battled hard, and I’m sure he’ll feel more comfortable tomorrow.”
The victory was Vegas’ first in five attempts at St. Louis. The Blues still haven’t lost to the Golden Knights in regulation, holding a 6-0-5 record against them.
“It seems like these games with the Blues always come down to special teams,” Smith said. “There’s a lot of back and forth, and that’s not how we want to play, but we found a way to win.”
Vladimir Tarasenko and Zach Sanford each had a goal and an assist for the Blues, and Ryan O’Reilly scored. Jordan Binnington made 35 saves for St. Louis, who have now lost three straight games in overtime but extended their point streak to seven games (4-0-3).
David Perron’s power-play goal, set by Brayden Schenn, gave the Blues a 4-3 lead with 9:20 left in the third period. Martinez tied it 47 seconds later.
Vegas took control early with two goals just 35 seconds apart late in the first period. Stone tipped in his seventh goal of the season, followed by Marchessault scoring off a rebound to make it 2-0.
“They play hard, we play hard,” Stone said. “These are the kinds of games you want to be part of.”
O’Reilly got the Blues on the board early in the second period, finishing a one-timer after some slick passing by Justin Faulk and Sanford. Nosek restored the two-goal lead for Vegas midway through the second, but Tarasenko brought the Blues back within one by scoring his first goal in nearly 17 months.
Sanford tied it at 3 with a power-play goal early in the third period, marking six straight games with a power-play goal for St. Louis.
HOMECOMING DELAYED
Vegas defenseman Alex Pietrangelo was expected to play his first game at Enterprise Center against his former team but returned home due to an upper-body injury suffered last Saturday. Pietrangelo, who played 12 seasons with the Blues and captained their 2019 Stanley Cup-winning team, signed a seven-year, $61.6 million contract with Vegas in the offseason.
BLUE NOTES
St. Louis signed Jordan Binnington to a six-year, $36 million contract extension on Thursday. … Blues center Oskar Sundqvist returned to the lineup after missing two games with an undisclosed injury.
UP NEXT
- The teams face off again in St. Louis on Saturday.
