Friday, Dec. 13, 2024 | 2 a.m.
Through the first two months of the season, the Vegas Golden Knights have proven they are comfortable with a lead or trailing.
Thursday’s 3-2 overtime win over the Winnipeg Jets was the 10th time the Golden Knights erased a deficit and went on to win the game. It was a game that they had deserved to win from the beginning, outshooting the Jets 36-20, but struggled to beat goalie Connor Hellebuyck through two periods.
“After watching the first period, we executed better … than I would have suspected,” Golden Knights coach Bruce Cassidy said. “We didn’t give up much for two periods but hung in there.”
But patience and persistence paid off as Vegas scored twice in the third period, which included a power play goal in the final two minutes of regulation to force overtime. With the team’s first and only shot of extra time, Ivan Barbashev cemented the comeback, scoring his 14th goal of the season.
The win is another testament to the Golden Knights’ experienced roster. Despite chasing a lead, there was no panic or stress throughout the game.
“The game’s 60 minutes for a reason, right,” Keegan Kolesar said. “If something doesn’t go our way in the first minute, or wherever it may be, we’ve got till the other 59 minutes to play.”
Surprisingly, this wasn’t remotely close to the Golden Knights’ biggest comeback this season. They were down 3-0 against the Philadelphia Flyers on Nov. 25 before winning 5-4 in overtime. The team has also come back from being down 2-0 three times, defeating the Ottawa Senators and the Utah Hockey Club twice.
“We’ve been doing this all season long,” Shea Theodore said on the Golden Knights’ comeback effort. “Today, it was a little bit different to stay on top of the other team. You just keep running to score a goal, and you just keep fighting and that’s what we did tonight.”
Defense has been on the rise, and Cassidy believes that this was the Golden Knights’ best defensive performance of the season. Some time back home and a week off has allowed players to recharge and hit their midseason stride.
“It’s probably going to be, numbers-wise, one of our best of the year,” Cassidy said on the defensive performance. “Analytics can be funny sometimes because your eye test isn’t always right, but I have a feeling this one will be (good), and we have been better (on defense).”
The Golden Knights continue to play some of their best hockey of the season, winning a fourth straight game and still in contention for the top spot in the NHL. Picking up a win over Winnipeg, who, despite the loss, moved into the top spot in the league, is huge to kick off a three-game road trip.
Vegas faces the Oilers for a third time Saturday in Edmonton and will then make a quick jump to Minnesota to take on the Wild, who are a point behind the Jets for the league lead. Picking up a sweep on this road trip could put Vegas atop of the NHL.
The Golden Knights are also the closest to being fully healthy they’ve been all season. Zach Whitecloud returned for the first time in seven games. Ben Hutton remains the only Golden Knights player remaining on injured reserve.
Some homecoming vibes may have helped the Golden Knights as well. Four Golden Knights are from Manitoba, and two of them got on the scoresheet. Kolesar of Brandon, Manitoba, scored, and Mark Stone of Winnipeg, Manitoba, assisted on a goal.
“We seem to get good results here, so good for them,” Cassidy said. “I tried to start all of them tonight, anybody with any roots from Winnipeg. Hopefully, that got them going.”