LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The Vegas Golden Knights got off to a hot start against the Ottawa Senators but lost momentum and weren't able to hold on for a win. They dropped Saturday night's battle 4-3 at the Canadian Tire Centre.
Going into Saturday's game, VGK head coach Bruce Cassidy said a win was needed and would give the team momentum as the playoff push ramps up.
"We're confident we can play the game we want to. Otherwise, we'd have to make some other structural changes and I don't think that's the case. Even though we're down some numbers, we should still be able to play our style of play," Cassidy said. "Other years, I've found this is the time of year you get going. If you feel like you're a contender, you start playing to that level so you start building it up for April and May so we'd like to get that mentality going again."
Vegas started off strong thanks to reigning MVP Jonathan Marchessault.
Less than six minutes into the game, Marchessault was able to rip a backhander past Ottawa goalie Anton Forsberg to find the back of the net and put the Golden Knights up 1-0. The goal was Marchessault's 30th goal of the season, a benchmark he has now reached three times in his career.
The Golden Knights added on to their lead in the second period, thanks to a wrister from Chandler Stephenson, who was able to convert on the power play to put Vegas up 2-0. However, the joy was short-lived due to the Senators tying things up at two following goals by Thomas Chabot and Drake Batherson.
In the third period, Ottawa scored went ahead for the first time in the game after Chabot shot the puck and it was tipped in by Josh Norris.
"I think that's got to be the fourth or fifth goal this year that teams have deflected, almost at crossbar height. Those are really tough to defend," Cassidy said after the game. "Our D is engaged with the player. The goalie's playing the shot so a bit of tough puck luck there."
Despite being down by one for about 13 minutes of play, the Golden Knights weren't done fighting. With just over a minute left in the game, Stephenson scored to tie things up at three and ultimately send the game into overtime.
Neither team was able to find the back of the net through overtime, which meant the game would be determined by a shootout.
Out of three rounds, the only player that was able to score was Tim Stutzle, who claimed the 4-3 victory for the Senators.
"Obviously, it would have been nice to secure the two-goal lead that we had but credit to them for their push and for us to get one late," Stephenson said after the game. "We got a point out of it and shootouts can go either way in this league."
Vegas has lost five of its last six games and their overall record drops to 32-20. Going into the game, the Golden Knights sat in second place in the Western Conference's Pacific Division behind the Vancouver Canucks, who had a come-from-behind win to defeat the Boston Bruins on Saturday night.
As for the Golden Knights, they're continuing their road trip and are heading to Toronto to face the Maple Leafs. The two teams faced off on Thursday and Toronto defeated Vegas 7-3. Cassidy said there are things to work on ahead of Tuesday's matchup.
"Against Toronto, we didn't defend the slot well enough. We didn't defend below our goal line well enough. Some of the things we worked on this morning, I thought we did a better job cutting pucks off, spent a lot less time in our own end. So that's what we'll reinforce on Monday and then get ready for them on Tuesday."
You can catch that game on Vegas 34 on Tuesday at 4 p.m.
