Golden Knights rally from 2 down in 3rd to beat Flames in OT
Feb 23, 2023, 7:06 AM | Updated: 10:15 pm
Calgary Flames center Blake Coleman (20) falls to the ice near Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Brayden McNabb during the third period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, Feb. 23, 2023, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/David Becker)
(AP Photo/David Becker)
LAS VEGAS (AP) — The Vegas Golden Knights had plenty going against them Thursday night, getting badly outshot in the first period and trailing by two goals in the third.
Then they turned it around, scoring twice to force overtime before Alex Pietrangelo knocked in a rebound 42 seconds into the extra period to defeat the Calgary Flames 4-3.
“I thought we chipped away more as the game went on,” Pietrangelo said. “We were more aggressive, I think. They’re on a back-to-back, and we kind of put them on their heels.”
The Knights, who lead the Western Conference with 75 points, extended their points streak to eight games. They are 6-0-2 during that stretch.
“You’ve got to be able to win those games if you expect to advance (in the playoffs),” Knights coach Bruce Cassidy said. “We’ve got to get there first, and that’s where these two points really matter. That is a bigger sign to me, the big picture is we can play these games against a heavy team.”
Zach Whitecloud and William Carrier scored in the third period for Vegas to erase the two-goal deficit.
Then in overtime, Jonathan Marchessault took a shot from the slot that nearly went into the net, but dropped behind Calgary goalie Dan Vladar. Pietrangelo was there to knock in the puck. Jack Eichel had the secondary assist for his second point of the night after earlier scoring a goal.
Eichel’s goal came on a second-period power play. His shot from the left circle ended a skid of 25 chances without a power-play goal, and the Knights had converted just one of their previous 32.
Jakob Pelletier, Jonathan Huberdeau and Mikael Backlund had goals for the Flames. This was Backlund’s fourth game in a row with a goal, and he has eight points in his past five games.
Backlund and Pelletier each had two points.
Calgary dominated early taking 16 of the first 18 shots on goals, outshooting the Knights 18-8 overall in the first period. The Flames had three power plays in the period, taking five shots on goal on their first man advantage and scoring on the second one.
Vegas was fortunate to only be down a goal after the first, with Laurent Brossoit coming up with key saves among his 17 stops in the period.
“I don’t think we ever thought we couldn’t win it,” Cassidy said. “I wasn’t sure in the first period we felt that way.”
Brossoit wound up making 25 saves for his first victory since March 4 at Anaheim. He had offseason hip surgery and then spent nearly the entire season playing for the Knights’ American Hockey League affiliate in Henderson before injuries at the top level gave him this opportunity.
“I’ve been waiting for this all year,” Brossoit said.
His wait nearly had to last a little longer when the Flames took 3-1 lead in the second period, but the advantage didn’t hold up as Calgary played just a night after winning 6-3 at Arizona. Calgary had just one shot on goal in the final period of regulation.
“I think fatigue caught up with us a little bit,” Flames coach Darryl Sutter said. “I think the second goal, the goalie would like to have that back, for sure. A 3-1 game, you like to take that as far into the period as you can.”
NOTES: Calgary’s Noah Hanifin extended his points streak to three (four assists). … Vegas’ Shea Theodore has eight points over a five-game streak, totaling two goals and six assists.
UPNEXT
Flames: At Colorado on Saturday.
Golden Knights: Host Dallas on Saturday in a matchup between the top two teams in the Western Conference in terms of points.
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