Crisis averted as Golden Knights come back against Jets

In a game the Vegas Golden Knights needed to have, the big guns pulled through.

On Tuesday, the Golden Knights were able to break their losing streak with a 4-3 overtime victory over the Winnipeg Jets

A sleepy first period was marked by the Jets getting on the board first. On their first sustained pressure of the game, a pair of Golden Knights turnovers was capitalized on by Cole Perfetti, who beat Carter Hart on a backhand shot.

Advertisement

Before the end of the first frame, however, a scary scene played out on the ice. A shove from Keegan Kolesar caused Jets defenseman Haydn Fleury to slide down the ice and hit the boards back-first. The entire Winnipeg team came out on the ice as Fleury was taken off the ice via stretcher and transported to a hospital.

After an obligatory fight between Kolesar and Jets captain Adam Lowry, the game continued as normal.

The second period featured more of the same, much to Bruce Cassidy’s chagrin. One of the long range goals the Golden Knights head coach wanted his team to stop went through, this time on the stick of Luke Schenn for the veteran defenseman’s first goal of the season.

Needing anything to go their way, the Golden Knights would finally get going on the power play. Mark Stone would make good on a chance in the final minute of the second period, putting the road team on the board. It is the fifth straight game where the captain has scored, and at a time when the team desperately needed one.

Advertisement

Taking the momentum into the locker room, the Golden Knights took the initiative in the third period. Keeping the pressure on the Jets, the Golden Knights broke through when Noah Hanifin hit a cross-ice pass to Brett Howden. Howden was able to sink the one-timer to put Vegas into a tie.

From there, the action quickly began to heat up. Jets forward and regular Golden Knights nemesis Kyle Connor got the home team back in the lead by using Kaedan Korczak as a screen to sneak a puck past Hart. A minute later, Reilly Smith answered right back with a rebound from Brandon Saad to keep the game deadlocked.

In overtime, the Golden Knights power play was able to be the deciding factor in the final minute. It required some puck luck, but newly-named Olympian Tomas Hertl was able to get the puck past Connor Hellebuyck to help the Golden Knights avoid their 13th overtime loss.