Kolesar scores late, Golden Knights hand Kraken 6th straight loss

LAS VEGAS -- Keegan Kolesar scored the go-ahead goal with 1:20 remaining in the third period, and the Vegas Golden Knights handed the Seattle Kraken their sixth consecutive loss with a 3-1 win at T-Mobile Arena on Thursday.

Kolesar scored on a backhand after Brett Howden lost control of the puck while skating across the crease. The Kraken challenged for offside, but the goal was upheld following video review.

“I'm happy for them,” Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy said. “They do a lot of dirty work for us, penalty kills and the physicality of the forecheck part. So good for ‘Koley.’ Those types of goals are more prevalent in the playoffs too. So, it's a good thing to be able to generate offense that way because the rush game tends to shut down.”

Jack Eichel and Chandler Stephenson scored for the Golden Knights (37-25-7), who have won four of their past six games. Logan Thompson made 21 saves.

Vegas remained four points ahead of the St. Louis Blues for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference and moved within two points of the Los Angeles Kings for third in the Pacific Division. St. Louis defeated the Ottawa Senators 5-2 on Thursday.

“We've played big-time hockey games as a group before,” Eichel said. “We understand the circumstances that we've put ourselves in now. Every game means something, so important to get two points. Game like tonight, you know, I thought we dominated there for 40 minutes. They get a power-play goal there, and I thought we stuck with it. We had some chances after they scored. Obviously, a huge goal there at the end of the game with a minute and a half left.”

Jaden Schwartz scored in his return from an upper-body injury, and Philipp Grubauer made 34 saves for the Kraken (28-28-12), who are 0-5-1 during their skid.

“Our effort was good,” Seattle coach Dave Hakstol said. “We battled really hard all night. We fought back to tie the game up. We stayed with it on the power play. So, the effort from start to finish was complete.”

Eichel gave Vegas a 1-0 lead at 8:14 of the first period, tapping in a rebound after Jonathan Marchessault turned and shot it off Grubauer’s pad from behind the net.

Schwartz tied it 1-1 at 13:29 of the third on the power play, redirecting a Ryker Evans shot past Thompson. It was Schwartz’s first game since March 8.

“Obviously, you want to come back and help the team out as much as you can,” Schwartz said of his tying goal. “Overall, it was a back-and-forth game. Both goalies played good. It could have gone either way. It would have been nice to get it into overtime. I thought we did a lot of good things. We worked hard. For me, I want to help the team as much as I can.”

Stephenson scored an empty-net goal on the power play at 19:49 for the 3-1 final.

“Obviously, that time of year trying to collect as many points as we can,” Stephenson said. “We’re not happy with the spot we're in, so just trying to collect as many wins here. It's kind of been building. (The game against) Tampa (a 5-3 loss on Tuesday) was a good one. The last three games have been pretty good. Obviously to get rewarded for that tonight, I think it's a confidence builder for the team."

NOTES: Kolesar scored the third go-ahead goal in the final two minutes this season for the Golden Knights, which is tied with the Carolina Hurricanes and Detroit Red Wings for the most in the NHL this season. … The win was Thompson’s 50th in the NHL. The only other goalie to have as many victories with Vegas is Marc-Andre Fleury (117).