LAS VEGAS – The Vegas Golden Knights tied their best home start with a 4-3 overtime victory against the Utah Hockey Club at T-Mobile Arena on Saturday.
The Golden Knights have won eight consecutive home games, tying the mark set in the 2017-18 season.
Defenseman Noah Hanifin had a three-point night (one goal, two assists), including the helper on Brett Howden’s overtime goal.
“It was important for ‘Hanny’ to find his game offensively. That’s something he counts on and expects to bring to the team,” Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy said. “Individually, it meant a lot to him [to score a goal].”
Pavel Dorofeyev and William Karlsson also scored, while Adin Hill made 16 saves.
“[Adin] was a little bit unlucky tonight,” Cassidy said. “He made a couple of nice stops to keep it close. We’d like Adin to find his game. He’s won a Cup for us. So, we’re relying on him to be solid every night.”
How the Goals Were Scored
Utah took a 2-0 lead after goals by Logan Cooley (a one-timer from the left face-off dot at 11:52 of the first) and Ian Cole (a shot from the point that deflected off Vegas defenseman Nicolas Hague).
Dorofeyev got the Golden Knights on the board at 15:06 of the second period, scoring into a wide-open net after Tomas Hertl passed it to him. It marked Hertl’s 500th career point.
Then Hanifin scored his first goal of the season at 19:59, beating the clock by milliseconds to tie the game at 2 entering the third.
The Golden Knights took the lead when Hanifin found Karlsson on a stretch pass, which Karlsson finished with a backhand through the five-hole at 5:37 of the third period.
“That’s the game I’ve been trying to get to for a while,” Hanifin said. “Just get up in the play using my feet, using my skating ability. When I do that, I can open up things for other players. We don’t want to be defending too much. I just got to keep building off that game.”
Utah tied it again at 13:10 when Alexander Kerfoot scored.
Howden ended the game at 2:15 of overtime, scoring his sixth goal.
“Everyone recognized they were out there for a while,” Howden said. “We knew we didn’t want to let them change. ‘Hanny’ made the play to me. I just tried taking it to the net. I found a lane and put it in.”
Up Next
The Golden Knights will travel to Edmonton for a game Wednesday against the Oilers.
Puck drop is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.