The Vegas Golden Knights faced significant challenges Thursday night, being heavily outshot in the first period and trailing by two goals in the third. However, they mounted a remarkable comeback, scoring twice to force overtime before Alex Pietrangelo secured a 4-3 victory over the Calgary Flames with a rebound goal just 42 seconds into the extra period.
“I thought we chipped away more as the game went on,” Pietrangelo said. “We were more aggressive, I think. They’re on a back-to-back, and we kind of put them on their heels.”
The Knights, who lead the Western Conference with 75 points, extended their points streak to eight games, going 6-0-2 during that stretch.
“You’ve got to be able to win those games if you expect to advance (in the playoffs),” Knights coach Bruce Cassidy said. “We’ve got to get there first, and these two points really matter. The big picture is we can play these games against a heavy team.”
Zach Whitecloud and William Carrier scored in the third period for Vegas to erase the two-goal deficit. In overtime, Jonathan Marchessault took a shot from the slot that nearly went into the net but dropped behind Calgary goalie Dan Vladar. Pietrangelo was there to knock in the puck. Jack Eichel had the secondary assist for his second point of the night after scoring a goal earlier.
Eichel’s second-period power-play goal ended a drought of 25 chances without a power-play goal, and the Knights had converted just one of their previous 32 opportunities.
Jakob Pelletier, Jonathan Huberdeau, and Mikael Backlund scored for the Flames. Backlund has scored in four consecutive games, totaling eight points in his past five games. Both Backlund and Pelletier had two points each.
Calgary dominated early, taking 16 of the first 18 shots on goal and outshooting the Knights 18-8 in the first period. The Flames had three power plays in the period, taking five shots on goal on their first-man advantage and scoring on the second. Vegas was fortunate to only be down a goal after the first period, thanks to Laurent Brossoit making 17 key saves.
“I don’t think we ever thought we couldn’t win it,” Cassidy said. “I wasn’t sure in the first period we felt that way.”
Brossoit finished with 25 saves for his first victory since March 4 at Anaheim. After offseason hip surgery, he spent nearly the entire season playing for the Knights’ AHL affiliate in Henderson before injuries at the top level gave him this opportunity.
“I’ve been waiting for this all year,” Brossoit said.
His wait nearly had to last longer when the Flames took a 3-1 lead in the second period, but the advantage didn’t hold up as Calgary, playing just a night after winning 6-3 at Arizona, managed just one shot on goal in the final period of regulation.
“I think fatigue caught up with us a little bit,” Flames coach Darryl Sutter said. “I think the second goal, the goalie would like to have that back, for sure. You like to take a 3-1 game as far into the period as you can.”
Game Notes
- Calgary’s Noah Hanifin extended his points streak to three games (four assists).
- Vegas’ Shea Theodore has eight points over a five-game streak, totaling two goals and six assists.
UP NEXT
- Flames: At Colorado on Saturday.
- Golden Knights: Host Dallas on Saturday in a matchup between the top two teams in the Western Conference in terms of points.