Golden Knights recover, defeat Predators in OT

LAS VEGAS -- Nicolas Hague scored 2:04 into overtime to give the Vegas Golden Knights a 5-4 victory against the Nashville Predators at T-Mobile Arena on Saturday.

Hague scored from the top of the left face-off circle during a delayed penalty, one-timing a pass from Mark Stone from along the goal line.
The goal came after Filip Forsberg tied it 4-4 with five seconds remaining in the third period, completing a hat trick with a shot from the top of the left circle on a power play.
"It was nice to end it like that," Hague said. "I leaned into it. I feel like I lean into all of them. That one was just from a good spot to lay it right in there. … I just have to try to hit the net and we'll see what happens. It ended up going in, which was pretty nice."

Chandler Stephenson had a goal and two assists, and Stone had three assists for Vegas (25-12-2). Logan Thompson made 33 saves.
"Win's a win. You take these two points and put it in the standings, and we're happier with two than one," Stone said. "I really thought when were down 2-0 we were playing really good hockey. We played for a majority of the game, we were the better team. … We beared down and got the win. That's all that matters in this league is winning."
Kevin Lankinen made 27 saves for Nashville (15-14-6), which was coming off a 6-1 win at the Anaheim Ducks on Friday.
"I thought we got off to a good start early," Forsberg said. "We got the early goal there from a good play by [Colton] Sissons and [Juuso] Parssinen," Forsberg said. "I think our line was playing well, and then obviously the lines got shuffled around a little bit toward the end, but everybody was playing better in the third. And the last goal was obviously a good play on the blue line there by [Roman] Josi and [Matt] Duchene, and I just tried to hit the net."

Forsberg made it 1-0 at 4:45 of the first period when he beat a sprawling Thompson following a turnover by the Golden Knights behind the net.
Jeremy Lauzon pushed it to 2-0 at 11:22 with a shot from the left face-off dot.
"I felt like everybody was looking at [Mikael Granlund]," Lauzon said. "I got alone on the side. He just found me and even the goalie wasn't even there. It was just an easy goal."
Kolesar cut it to 2-1 at 15:55 when he tipped in a Daniil Miromanov shot.
Michael Amadio then tied it 2-2 at 1:43 of the second period, one-timing a pass from Stone on the rush.
"Mike scored a nice goal tonight. He could have had a few more," Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy said. "He finds the open ice. He's playing with some really good players. Let's face it, we need it right now. Some of our guys are struggling to find the back of the net. We need some secondary guys to step up. He certainly fits that bill."

Reilly Smith gave the Golden Knights a 3-2 lead at 8:53, roofing a backhand pass from Kolesar.
Stephenson made it 4-2 when he scored from above the hash marks at 4:41 of the third period.
Forsberg cut it to 4-3 at 11:41, deflecting in Ryan McDonagh's shot at the edge of the crease.
"I thought we worked and obviously made a push there in the third period and scored late. Those 6-on-5 situations are critical," Nashville coach John Hynes said. "You go from basically no points to giving yourself a chance to get two in overtime. So I thought that the push we made in the third and staying with it was good."
NOTES: Hague's goal was his first goal since Nov. 5 (26 games). ... Forsberg, who has eight NHL hat tricks, also surpassed 500 points in the NHL (234 goals, 267 assists in 601 games). … Brayden McNabb was given a match penalty at 9:02 of the second period for an illegal check to the head. … Miromanov did not play in the third period after sustaining a lower-body injury while blocking a shot late in the second period. … Stone has 10 points (four goals, six assists) in his past five games. … Amadio has scored four goals in his past five games.