Las Vegas Sun

March 19, 2024

Blog: Golden Knights shock Blues 3-2 in overtime

Malcolm Subban

AP Photo / John Locher

Vegas Golden Knights goalie Malcolm Subban blocks a shot by the St. Louis Blues during the first period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, Oct. 21, 2017, in Las Vegas.

Golden Knights beat St. Louis 3-2 in overtime

William Karlsson slapped a one-timer into the back of the net with only 23 seconds left in overtime to give the Golden Knights the 3-2 win over the St. Louis Blues.

Reilly Smith found Karlsson streaking down the right side on a 2-on-1 break, and the Golden Knights moved to 6-1-0 on the season with the win.

With the Golden Knights leading 2-1 in the third period, goalie Malcolm Subban left the game with what appeared to be a leg injury with about nine minutes left in the game. Oscar Dansk entered the game, and on the first NHL shot faced of his career he allowed the game-tying goal.

Blues captain Alex Pietrangelo fired a slap shot that found the back of the net to tie the game 2-2, and the Golden Knights barely held on in the final minutes to force overtime.

Goalies Dansk and Jake Allen both came up big in overtime, holding the teams scoreless for the full five minutes.

Golden Knights lead St. Louis 2-1 after the second period

The Golden Knights matched their season total for power play goals in the second period alone, to take a 2-1 lead over the St. Louis Blues.

Vegas entered Saturday night’s game 2-for-26 on the power play, which ranks 28th in the NHL, and scored on back-to-back power plays to grab the lead despite being outshot by St. Louis 29-12.

Reilly Smith struck first, when a shot by Colin Miller was blocked by a Blues defender right onto Smith’s stick. Smith fired the puck past Jake Allen to tie the game 1-1 with 6:06 left in the period.

Minutes later, on another power play, Miller sniped a shot into the top left corner to give the Golden Knights their first lead of the game.

Golden Knights trail St. Louis 1-0 after one period

The St. Louis Blues lead the Golden Knights 1-0 after dominating Vegas in the first period of play.

Oskar Sundqvist helped get the Blues on the board when he put a wraparound attempt in front of the Golden Knights’ goal and Magnus Paajarvi jammed it into the goal with 7:09 left in the period.

St. Louis out-shot the Golden Knights 18-4 in the first period but goalie Malcolm Subban had the best period of his career in Vegas. Subban stopped Brayden Schenn on a shorthanded breakaway and had a pair of glove saves to keep the deficit at only one.

For the Golden Knights, David Perron had two good attempts at goal against his former team, but goalie Jake Allen was up to the task on both.

Pre-game

To this point, the Golden Knights have passed nearly every test they’ve faced this season. Tonight they may have the toughest one yet, as they host the first-place St. Louis Blues at 7:30 p.m. at T-Mobile Arena.

The Golden Knights have won five of their first six games, but have done so against the easiest schedule in the entire NHL. Two of the wins came over the winless Arizona Coyotes, and Vegas’ opponents have a combined record of only 11-26-5.

St. Louis enters tonight’s contest with its offense clicking on all cylinders. Blues’ winger Jaden Schwartz leads the team with six goals, three of which came in a hat trick performance against the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday night. The always-dangerous Vladimir Tarasenko already has five goals and four assists on the season, and the Blues’ strong blue line is headed by Alex Pietrangelo who has 10 points.

After back-to-back wins over the Blackhawks and Avalanche, the Blues have an early-season lead atop the Western Conference with an impressive 6-2 record. With a win tonight the Golden Knights could supplant St. Louis for that spot.

Vegas will again be shorthanded with Marc-Andre Fleury, Jonathan Marchessault and Erik Haula still on the injured reserve. Malcolm Subban will be in net after winning his first two starts of his Golden Knights’ career.

A win, or a competitive performance, tonight against a perennial playoff contender like the Blues could prove the Golden Knights are more than just a hot team that has benefited from an easy opening schedule.

Puck drops: 7:30 p.m.

Where: T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas

Radio: Fox Sports 1340 AM and 98.9 FM

TV: AT&T SportsNet (DirecTV 684, Cox 1313, CenturyLink Prism 1760, Dish Network 5414)

Betting line: Golden Knights plus-125, Total 5.5 minus-115 to the over

Golden Knights (5-1-0) (3-1-0 home)

Coach: Gerard Gallant

Goal leader: James Neal (6)

Assist leader: Brendan Leipsic and Luca Sbisa (4)

Expected goalie: Malcolm Subban (2-0-0, 2.42 goals against average)

St. Louis Blues (6-2-0) (3-2-0 away)

Coach: Mike Yeo

Goal leader: Jaden Schwartz (6)

Assist leader: Alex Pietrangelo (8)

Expected goalie: Jake Allen (4-2-0, 2.80 goals against average)

Golden Knights game day roster

Forwards (12): Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, William Carrier, Cody Eakin, William Karlsson, Brendan Leipsic, Oscar Lindberg, James Neal, Tomas Nosek, David Perron, Vadim Shipachyov, Reilly Smith and Alex Tuch.

Defensemen (6): Deryk Engelland, Brad Hunt, Brayden McNabb, Colin Miller, Luca Sbisa and Nate Schmidt.

Goalies (2): Malcolm Subban and Oscar Dansk.

Prediction : Blues 5, Golden Knights 2

Season record for predictions: 3-3

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