Dallas Stars center Wyatt Johnston celebrates with Ty Dellandrea (10) after scoring past Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Laurent Brossoit (39) during the second period of an NHL hockey game at T-Mobile Arena Saturday, Feb. 25, 2023. Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Brayden McNabb (3) is at right.
Published Saturday, Feb. 25, 2023 | 9:50 p.m.
Updated Saturday, Feb. 25, 2023 | 11:14 p.m.
The best saves are usually the ones when a goalie is out of position. Half of the saves Marc-Andre Fleury made in T-Mobile Arena are a by-product of that.
Laurent Brossoit might have made the best save ever in this building, but the hockey gods dictate everything good must be ruined by a shootout.
Brossoit made 41 saves in his third straight start, including a save-of-the-year candidate in overtime, but the Golden Knights lost 3-2 to the Dallas Stars on Saturday in the second meeting this season between the two best teams in the Western Conference.
At 1:02 into the extra frame, a loose puck finds its way to Dallas forward Tyler Seguin in the low slot. Brossoit, already out of his crease after making an initial save, doesn't have enough leverage to position himself back into a firm stance.
Rolling on his back from left to right, Brossoit got the back of his glove on Seguin's shot and swatted the puck to the end wall.
"I just kind of threw my glove at it, and he just threw it at the one spot I could've gotten it," Brossoit said.
On a night highlighted by that save, and spectacular goaltending at the other end from Stars netminder Jake Oettinger — both made 41 saves — the skills competition decided it with the Stars making both attempts and handing the Golden Knights (35-18-6) their second loss in three games, both in a shootout.
But Vegas has still not lost in regulation since coming back from the All-Star break and is on a nine-game point streak dating back to Jan. 28.
The Golden Knights remain atop the Western Conference via percentage points ahead of Dallas. The third-place team, the defending Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche, will host Vegas on Monday.
"It was a fun game," Brossoit said. "Both goalies played well and both teams played well."
The last time the Stars visited T-Mobile Arena on Jan. 16, the Golden Knights were overmatched in Pete DeBoer's first game against his former team. Dallas clogged the neutral zone, played sound defense and dominated to a 4-0 victory.
Vegas returned the favor from the get-go in the first period, outshooting Dallas 15-5 in the opening 20 minutes. But no goals were put on the board because Oettinger turned away all 15.
Brossoit only saw five, but a bulk of them came during a four-minute Dallas power play that got him in a rhythm early.
"I think any goalie will tell you they like being peppered," Brossoit said. "Luckily they were throwing a lot of pucks on net. When I'm feeling good, my rebound control is a strength. It just lets me get control of the game and contribute more that way."
The second period was Brossoit's turn to keep his team in it. Dallas put 21 shots on the Vegas goalie while the Golden Knights had just seven on Oettinger.
One of those came 12 minutes into the middle frame when Michael Amadio deflected a shot-pass from Brayden McNabb in front of the net for a 1-0 lead.
Stars rookie Wyatt Johnston responded 2:01 later, alone on the weak side of the crease, to tie the game.
Oettinger's performance was expected. He's arguably the best young goalie in the league and is going to be Linus Ullmark's best challenge for the Vezina Trophy.
Brossoit continues to raise eyebrows, even sans a highlight-reel save that will live forever.
Adin Hill returned to the lineup Saturday after missing the past two games with what coach Bruce Cassidy called "a bump." Hill backed up Brossoit to keep the hot hand rolling.
If there are more performances like this, Brossoit won't be giving up the net any time soon. The 29-year-old has earned a point in each of his first three starts since returning to the NHL lineup after offseason hip surgery, posting a .936 save percentage and a 2.20 GAA.
For a game like this, if any more goals were to be scored, it was going to require impressive shots.
Exhibit A: Jack Eichel.
After receiving a touch pass from Chandler Stephenson, Eichel walked in from the left side, kept the puck on his backhand until the very last moment and scored with his forehand to give the Golden Knights a 2-1 lead with 4:37 to go.
Eichel, now with a team-high 20 goals, scored for the third straight game.
"This time of the year, points are at a premium," Eichel said. "Everyone's fighting for playoff spots so every game is going to be an important one."
Exhibit B: Roope Hintz.
Moments after he ripped a shot wide of the net, Hintz received a pass just above the right circle and sniped one past a screened Brossoit to tie the game with 37.1 seconds left.
After the eventful overtime, Hintz scored the game-winner in the shootout, as well.
The January loss to Dallas wasn't a game the Golden Knights could throw away. Yet the team that is on a nine-game point streak is a far cry from the one that went 1-5-2 heading into the bye week. Vegas has played a stronger defensive game, a more attention-to-detail game, and it's showed in their two toughest challenges in the last week — Dallas and Tampa Bay.
Eyes now turn to Colorado on Monday where the Golden Knights face a healthier version of the Avalanche than they faced on Jan. 2, a 3-2 Vegas victory.
Another measuring-stick game, perhaps another chance for Brossoit to continue this hot run. Not to mention there's six days until the trade deadline.
Everything's happening, and attention once again sits on the Golden Knights.
"We're playing a lot of good teams coming up," Eichel said. "We've got a lot of hockey. I think we're playing good hockey. We're doing a lot of good things that we want to do as a group."
Danny Webster can be reached at 702-259-8814 or [email protected]. Follow Danny on Twitter at twitter.com/DannyWebster21.
