Golden Knights Storm Back for 6-5 OT Win Over Maple Leafs in Wild Finish at T-Mobile Arena
If you're looking for a blueprint on how to claw your way back from the brink, the Vegas Golden Knights just wrote it-complete with a dramatic game-tying goal in the dying seconds and a Jack Eichel overtime winner that had T-Mobile Arena rocking.
Vegas outlasted the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-5 in a rollercoaster of a game Thursday night, rallying from multiple two-goal deficits to pull off one of the most thrilling comebacks in franchise history.
How It Unfolded
Toronto came out flying. Morgan Rielly opened the scoring just two minutes into the game, and William Nylander added another shortly after to give the Leafs a quick 2-0 edge.
The Knights responded with a power-play goal from Pavel Dorofeyev, who continues to be a menace with the man advantage. The setup was slick-Jack Eichel found Mitch Marner at the blue line, who quickly dished it to Dorofeyev for a one-timer that beat Joseph Woll top shelf.
But the Leafs weren’t done. Auston Matthews restored the two-goal cushion before the end of the first, making it 3-1 heading into the second.
Vegas trimmed the deficit again five minutes into the middle frame. Keegan Kolesar, parked in front of the net, cleaned up a rebound off a Braeden Bowman shot after a well-placed pass from Noah Hanifin.
That gave Kolesar his second goal of the season and Vegas some life. But once again, Toronto answered-this time on the power play, with John Tavares making it 4-2.
Cue the third-period fireworks.
Dorofeyev struck again on the power play early in the final frame, banking in a loose puck after a missed shot by Marner. That gave him his 13th power-play goal of the season-second-most in the league-and brought Vegas back within one.
Toronto’s Scott Laughton made it 5-3 midway through the third, but Vegas refused to go away. Mark Stone jammed home a rebound with help from Ivan Barbashev and Eichel to cut the lead to 5-4.
Then, with just seven seconds left and the goalie pulled for the extra attacker, Tomas Hertl buried the equalizer. Eichel threaded a pass into the slot, and Hertl didn’t miss.
Overtime didn’t last long. Shea Theodore led a 2-on-1 break, feeding Stone, who was denied by Woll.
But Stone stayed with the play, collected the rebound, and found a trailing Eichel. The Vegas center outwaited Woll and finished on the backhand to complete the comeback.
Adin Hill, returning from injury, earned the win in net-his first game back and a big one at that.
Top Performers
- Jack Eichel: The engine behind the comeback. Eichel finished with four points (1G, 3A), including the OT winner, and extended his point streak to seven games. He’s got 13 points (5G, 8A) over that stretch and looks every bit the elite playmaker Vegas needs him to be.
- Pavel Dorofeyev: Two more power-play goals for the 23-year-old, who’s now up to 19 on the year-13 of them coming on the man advantage. That ties him for second in the league in power-play goals. His chemistry with the top unit is undeniable.
- Mark Stone: Another multi-point night for the captain, who scored his 17th goal of the season and added two assists. Stone has now recorded points in 27 of his last 30 games-an incredible 90% clip-and is riding a 10-game point streak (9G, 8A).
- Tomas Hertl: The game-tying hero. Hertl’s goal with seven seconds left saved the night and sent the game to OT. He also added an assist.
- Mitch Marner: Facing his former team, Marner picked up two power-play assists, giving him 18 multi-point games this season.
Golden Knights by the Numbers
- The game-tying goal with seven seconds left marks the second-latest comeback win in Golden Knights history.
- Dorofeyev became just the second player in the NHL to reach 13 power-play goals this season (joining Wyatt Johnston).
- Vegas has now won six straight games and extended their point streak to seven.
- Eichel has seven points in his last two games alone.
- Stone continues to lead the league in games with at least one point by percentage (27 of 30).
Attendance
A full house of 17,975 fans packed T-Mobile Arena for this one, and they were treated to a game that had everything-goals, grit, and a finish worthy of a playoff script.
Next Up
The Golden Knights continue their homestand Saturday night with a rematch against the Nashville Predators. Puck drops at 7 p.m. local time at T-Mobile Arena.
Vegas is rolling, and with their stars heating up, this team is starting to look like the one that lifted the Stanley Cup not too long ago.