Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024 | 11:07 p.m.
Halfway through the third period of the Vegas Golden Knights preseason game against the San Jose Sharks, hats were raining down onto the ice at T-Mobile Arena.
Pavel Dorofeyev scored his third goal of the game Saturday to send the fans into a frenzy and put Vegas up by two goals going into the home stretch of the game.
Vegas, however, couldn’t hold the lead.
Three goals in the final three minutes of the game spoiled any Golden Knights’ celebrations as the late collapse led to a 6-5 loss in their final preseason game. The regular season starts Wednesday.
“It’s a bit of managing the puck at the end and we need to be a little harder in those areas to secure a win,” Golden Knights coach Bruce Cassidy said. “Fortunately, it’s the preseason, so we’ll learn from it, but bad habits take time to break. We’ve got to keep working on it.”
Cassidy said poor puck management was the reason why the Golden Knights could not close the game. Vegas had opportunities to clear the puck out of its zone but were hesitant to do so.
The one attempt the Golden Knights made was when Dorofeyev shot toward the Sharks’ empty net for his potential fourth goal of the night. If the shot hadn’t gone wide, Vegas would’ve at the least hung on for overtime.
“It’s not something you can just flush down the toilet,” captain Mark Stone said. “We need to be dialed in come Wednesday (regular season opener). A lot of times during the season we’re going to be defending a goal, two goal or three-goal lead. We’ve got to do a better job at staying disciplined all over the ice.”
Outside of the final three minutes of the game, the Golden Knights had a strong night off of Dorofeyev’s hat trick, line pairings and the power play.
Dorofeyev skated with Tomas Hertl at center, who assisted on two of his goals and Alexander Holtz on the wing. With the trio having a strong night, this could be a winning combination for Vegas’ second line.
“I didn’t think he’d (Dorofeyev) end up with Jack (Eichel). We liked Barby (Ivan Barbashev) there tonight and it was Hertl (with Dorofeyev), so maybe we found something there,” Cassidy said. That line was very dynamic offensively.”
While the power play is still finding its groove, the unit went 1-for-3 on the night, scoring off a Mark Stone tip in front of the net. The Golden Knights have scored a power-play goal in four straight games now.
“We’re starting to feel comfortable,” Stone said. “Jack’s (Eichel) doing a good job possessing a puck, using his strength and size to fend off pressure. We’re working on chemistry and getting close to each other.”
Now four days out from the start of the regular season against the Colorado Avalanche at home, Vegas is taking the good in the bad in its final preseason game.
Cassidy said while the Golden Knights played well, the last three minutes of the game “happened” and it’s not the ideal way to end the preseason.
“Maybe we just felt it was over,” Cassidy said.