Golden Knights Top Panthers With 6-5 Shootout Win

The Golden Knights defeated the Florida Panthers, 6-5, in a shootout after a back-and-forth affair Wednesday night at T-Mobile Arena.
HOW IT WENT DOWN
Just 3:09 into the first period, Paul Stastny got the puck in front of the Panthers net on an offensive zone draw and fired home the first goal of the night to give Vegas a 1-0 lead. However, the Panthers scored three times in a 4:25 span, including a pair of power-play goals from Mike Hoffman, to put the Golden Knights down 3-1 at the end of the first.
At 7:40 of the second frame, Jonathan Marchessault fed the puck to Reilly Smith who went between the legs to bring Vegas within a goal. Jon Merrill tied it up with his third of the season when he took a shot from the point off a pass from Shea Theodore. The Golden Knights took the lead with a marker from Colin Miller, but Aleksander Barkov shoved in a rebound to retie it at 4-4.
Florida regained the lead early in the third with a goal from Jonathan Huberdeau before Reilly Smith scored his second of the night by shooting it past Luongo's shoulder to send the game to overtime, 5-5. After a scoreless overtime period, Theodore scored the only goal of the shootout to secure the 6-5 Golden Knights victory.
TURNING POINT
Reilly Smith's late goal in the third kept Vegas in the game to force overtime.

TOP PERFORMERS
Reilly Smith: Smith had two goals, including a late tying goal in the third period.
Jon Merrill: Merrill scored his third goal of the season and recorded his first multi-point game this year.
Jonathan Huberdeau: Huberdeau recorded three assists and a goal tonight for 12 points in his last six games.
STAT OF THE GAME
Both teams registered four different scorers in the high-scoring matchup.
ATTENDANCE: 18,281
LOOKING AHEAD
Vegas gets back to work against the Anaheim Ducks at 7 p.m. Friday at Honda Center.