Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Live coverage: Golden Knights rally for a point, but fall to Jets in OT

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Steve Marcus

A puck shot by Winnipeg Jets left wing Kyle Connor (not pictured) gets past Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Laurent Brossoit (39) to give the Winnipeg Jets a 5-4 win in overtime at T-Mobile Arena Sunday, Jan. 2, 2022.

Updated Sunday, Jan. 2, 2022 | 3:44 p.m.

The Golden Knights scored two goals in the first period against the Winnipeg Jets, going up a pair on the Winnipeg Jets at T-Mobile Arena. Things got wild after that.

The Jets scored two in the second to tie it then two in the third to grab the lead, netting four unanswered goals. The Golden Knights got them both back, including the game-tying goal with nine seconds left in regulation. But Kyle Connor ripped home the game-winner in overtime, and sent Vegas to a 5-4 defeat.

It was the Golden Knights' first overtime or shootout loss of the season, as they grabbed one standing point rom the defeat.

Vegas scored twice in the first period thanks to a Michael Amadio rebound and an Evgenii Dadonov centering pass that went off a Jets defenseman and into the net. The Golden Knights had 22 shots on goal in the first period, and only strong goalie play from Connor Hellebuyck kept them from adding to their lead.

That would turn into an important point. Winnipeg got two goals in 30 seconds from Jansen Harkins and Kristian Reichel to even the game in the second, and Hellebuyck stood tall again to keep from Vegas from grabbing the lead.

Then in the third things got real interesting. Former Vegas forward Paul Stastny scored in his return to T-Mobile Arena, and 1:48 later Andrew Copp poked in a power-play tally to give the Jets a two-goal lead of their own.

Vegas answered with a strong effort by Mattias Janmark to drive to the net and a nifty finish to trim the deficit to 4-3. Brossoit made his best save of the game moments later to slide across the crease and glove down a Nikolaj Ehler's ripper ear-marked for the goal.

The Golden Knights pulled Brossoit for the extra attacker with 1:38 to go, and immediately had a chance tip wide. The Jets had a chance of their own to ice the game, but Stastny hit the outside of the post of Vegas' empty net with 27 seconds left.

The miss allowed the Golden Knights one more chance to tie it, and they didn't miss. Alex Pietrangelo's shot deflected off Mattias Janmark's skate with nine seconds left to tie the game 4-4 and send it to overtime.

The Golden Knights finished with a season-high 46 shots on goal, surpassing their previous high of 45 set on Friday for a two-game total of 91 shots on goal. The Jets finished with 37 shots.

Golden Knights, Jets tied heading to third period

As hard as the Golden Knights worked to get two goals in the first period, the lead disappeared quickly in the second. After that, the goalies took over and stole the show.

The Winnipeg Jets scored twice in the second period to even the score 2-2, and sned the game to the third period tied at T-Mobile Arena on Sunday.

Jansen Harkins got it started for Winnipeg, dancing his way from the point, stick-handling back and forth until ripping the shot into the net at 2:19 for the Jets' first goal.

The second goal came 30 seconds later. There was less finesse on Kristian Reichel's shot, as he set offered a loose puck at the net and squeezed by goalie Laurent Brossit to even the game. It was Reichel's first-career goal in his second-career game.

After that Brossoit settled in to keep his former team from grabbing the lead. He made a couple of big saves, including a terrific slide across the crease to deny a Kyle Connor one-timer on the power play.

Once the Golden Knights turned up the pressure, the second period turned into an entertaining goalie battle. Connor Hellebuyck played well in the first period even with his two goals allowed and was superb in keeping Vegas off the board in the second. His best sequence came with about five minutes left in the frame, first poking the puck off William Karlsson's stick then making three saves in quick succession.

Vegas led 36-21 in shots on goal, marking 34 saves for Hellebuyck and 19 for Brossoit through two periods.

Fast start puts Golden Knights up a pair on Jets

The Golden Knights were ready to from the opening puck drop Sunday afternoon, and were as energetic in the first period as they've been all season.

Vegas fired 22 shots on the Winnipeg Jets' goal in the opening frame, and two of them found the back of the net, giving the Golden Knights' a 2-0 lead heading to the first intermission at T-Mobile Arena.

For all those shots, it took awhile to beat the Winnipeg goalie. Connor Hellebuyck won the Vezina Trophy two years ago and is generally considered one of the best goalies in the world for a reason. He was on his game early on, stopping the first 15 shots that came his way. That last one though, kicked out to his right where Michael Amadio was there to put home a rebound for his third goal of the season.

It came at 13:05, and it gave the Golden Knights a 1-0 lead.

The goal was certainly deserved for Vegas, who had no trouble getting the puck on Hellebuyck. Both sides played some end-to-end hockey early on with Laurent Brossoit defending the Vegas cage, but the Golden Knights started to tilt the ice near the midpoint of the frame, and were rewarded one more time.

It wasn't exactly on purpose, but Evgenii Dadonov added to the Golden Knights' lead with 3:01 to play. He and Michael Amadio came in on Hellebuyck in a 2-on-1 and once Amadio got Dadonov the puck, Dadonov tried to get it back to Amadio. Instead it deflected off defenseman Josh Morrissey and into the net, going into the books as Dadonov's ninth goal of the season.

The Golden Knights led 22-10 in shots on goal for the first period, carrying over the momentum from Friday when they outshot the Ducks 45-16.

Golden Knights welcome back Schmidt, Stastny

The Golden Knights will be welcoming quite a few old friends to T-Mobile Arena this week.

Three of Vegas' the next four games feature a former Golden Knight, starting at 1 p.m. at T-Mobile Arena when the Winnipeg Jets come to town, along with original Golden Knight Nate Schmidt and two-year forward Paul Stastny.

Both were traded more than a season ago — Stastny to Winnipeg and Schmidt to Vancouver — but the pandemic-altered 2020-21 season meant no Canadian teams came to Las Vegas in the regular season. Schmidt was traded to Winnipeg this offseason, reuniting him with Stastny and setting up today's reunion.

Schmidt was adored by the Golden Knights' fans, and while both will likely receive hearty applauses, Schmidt's figures to be as large as any former Vegas player has ever received. He was selected in the 2017 expansion draft, blossomed from depth defenseman to top-pair threat in his three seasons with the Golden Knights, and remains one of the most beloved players to play in Las Vegas.

Stastny, while his time wasn't as long, was just as impactful in his two seasons. He helped solidify a forward group depleted by free-agent departures of James Neal and David Perron in 2018, then centered a lethal line with Max Pacioretty and eventually Mark Stone.

Both were traded not for a lack of production, but because of salary cap issues. They made almost $12 million combined in their final seasons in Vegas, and their departures allowed Vegas to sign star defenseman Alex Pietrangelo and retain goalie Robin Lehner.

They will return to Vegas today, and based on precedent from the organization, will receive tribute graphics or videos on the big screen during the first period.

Theirs won't be the only videos this week. Next up on Tuesday is the Nashville Predators, who employ former first-ever draft pick Cody Glass. He's currently in the AHL and doesn't figure to come to Vegas, but there is a possibility.

Certain to come pending injuries or health when the New York Rangers arrive on Thursday are former coach Gerard Gallant and fan-favorite Ryan Reaves. They played the Golden Knights for the first time last month in New York, and both figure to receive loud receptions from the Golden Knights crowd.

Then on Saturday will come an emotional return when the Chicago Blackhawks come to town. Their goalie is of course arguably the most beloved athlete in Las Vegas history, the goalie traded this offseason, Marc-Andre Fleury. It will be his first game against the Golden Knights since his controversial move this offseason where Vegas traded him for cap space and nothing in return. If there is any game that will test Golden Knights' loyalties, it will be that one.

TV: AT&T SportsNet (DirecTV 684, Cox 1313, CenturyLink 1760)

Radio: Fox Sports 1340 AM and 98.9 FM

Betting line: Golden Knights minus-150, Jets plus-130; over/under: 6 (minus-115, minus-105)

Golden Knights (22-12-0, 44 points; 1st place, Pacific Division)

Coach: Pete DeBoer (third season)

Points leaders: Chandler Stephenson (34)

Goals leader: Jonathan Marchessault (16)

Assists leader: Chandler Stephenson (24)

Expected goalie: Laurent Brossoit (2.59 GAA, .904 save percentage)

Jets (14-11-5, 33 points; 5th place, Central Division)

Interim coach: Dave Lowry (first season)

Points leader: Kyle Connor (32)

Goals leader: Kyle Connor (18)

Assists leaders: Nate Schmidt, Blake Wheeler (16)

Expected goalie: Connor Hellebuyck (2.69 GAA, .916 save percentage)

Golden Knights projected lineup

Forwards

Evgenii Dadonov—Chandler Stephenson—Nolan Patrick

Jonathan Marchessault—William Karlsson—Reilly Smith

Mattias Janmark—Nicolas Roy—Keegan Kolesar

William Carrier—Nolan Patrick—Michael Amadio

Defensemen

Ben Hutton—Alex Pietrangelo

Shea Theodore—Zach Whitecloud

Brayden McNabb—Dylan Coghlan

Goalies

Laurent Brossoit, Logan Thompson

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