The Vegas Golden Knights (23-11-12) completed a 6-5 overtime comeback victory against the Toronto Maple Leafs (23-16-8) on Thursday evening at T-Mobile Arena.
HOW IT WENT DOWNThe Maple Leafs got on the board first on a goal from Morgan Rielly two minutes into the game, and William Nylander doubled Toronto’s lead three minutes later. Pavel Dorofeyev tallied his first power-play goal of the night to bring Vegas within one. From the circle, Jack Eichel sent the puck towards Mitch Marner near the blueline who one-touched it to Dorofeyev for a one-timer to go top shelf against Joesph Woll. Just under two minutes later, Auston Matthews pushed the Maple Leafs’ lead back to two to make the score 3-1 heading into the second period. Five minutes into the middle frame, Keegan Kolesar tallied his second goal of the season on a rebounded shot from Braeden Bowman. From the blueline, Noah Hanifin passed the puck along the boards to Bowman who threw a shot from the dot. Kolesar, sitting net front, cleaned up the puck past Woll. John Tavares scored Toronto’s fourth goal of the night on the power play with 7:14 remaining to once again, have a two-goal lead.
Early in the final frame, Dorofeyev recorded his second power-play goal of the night and team-leading 13th mark on the man advantage this season. A shot from Marner missed wide, allowing Dorofeyev to bank the puck into the net to make the score, 4-3. Scott Laughton scored Toronto’s fifth and final goal of the night nine minutes into the third period. Mark Stone brought Vegas within one by jamming the puck past Woll with assists from Ivan Barbashev and Eichel. With seven seconds left in a six-on-five advantage, Tomas Hertl evened the score for the Golden Knights to send the game to overtime. Eichel sent a pass to the slot where Hertl fired the game-tying goal. Midway through the extra frame, Shea Theodore broke into the offensive zone and dished the puck to Stone on the 2-on-1. Woll made the save but Stone gathered the rebound to dish a charging Eichel who outlasted Woll on the backhand for the overtime game-winner. Adin Hill earned the victory in his first game since returning from injury.
TOP PREFORMERSJack Eichel: Eichel skated away with the game-winning goal and three assists on the night, extending his point streak to seven games.
Pavel Dorofeyev: Dorofeyev netted a pair of goals in the matchup, totaling 19 goals, 13 of which have come on the man-advantage.
Mark Stone: Stone netted his 17th goal of the season, picked up a pair of assists and has points in has 27-of-30 games this year (90%) for a league best.
Mitch Marner: Marner tallied a pair of assists on the power play for his 18th multi-point game of the season against his former team.
Tomas Hertl: Hertl scored the game-tying goal with seven seconds remaining to tie the game.VGK STATS OF THE KNIGHT
With the game-tying goal scored with seven seconds remaining, Vegas earned its second-latest comeback win in franchise history.
Pavel Dorofeyev became the second NHL player to reach 13 power-play goals this season (Wyatt Johnston).
Jack Eichel has registered 13 points (5G, 9A) in seven straight games, and seven points (1G, 6A) in the last two games.
Mark Stone boosted his point streak to ten games, registering 17 points (9G, 8A)
The Golden Knights have won six straight contests and are on a seven-game point streak.
Mitch Marner (2A), Eichel (1G, 3A), Stone (1G, 2A), Dorofeyev (2G), Hertl (1G, 1A) all registered multi-point nights.
ATTENDANCE: 17,975WHEN VGK WINS, YOU WIN!
Fans can receive six free boneless or traditional wings at any Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant location throughout the greater Vegas metro area with a $10+ qualifying pre-tax purchase of food and non-alcoholic beverages, available for 2 days after any 2025-2026 VGK Win.
LOOKING AHEADThe Golden Knights continue their three-game homestand with a rematch against the Nashville Predators on Saturday at 7 p.m. at T-Mobile Arena. Watch all the action on The Spot-Vegas 34, stream on KnightTime+, or listen live on FOX Sports Las Vegas 94.7/1340 and Deportes Vegas 1460.
