Without the American or Canadian Olympians at their disposal, the remaining Vegas Golden Knights needed a gold medal-level effort to keep their momentum going.
On Wednesday, it required a roller coaster third period to get the job done, but the Golden Knights were able to get the job done with a 6-4 victory over the Los Angeles Kings.
Early on, Pavel Dorofeyev quickly got back to his scoring ways. After a shot by Tanner Laczynski ricocheted off the boards, it landed directly on the stick of Vegas’ leading goal scorer. Dorofeyev would quickly fire it past Anton Forsberg to put the Golden Knights on the lead first.
However, the Golden Knights would feel the effects of Artemi Panarin soon after. After a Rasmus Andersson slash put the Kings on the man advantage, Panarin was able to find Quinton Byfield in front of the net. The pass ricocheted off of Byfield’s skate in a way that deceived Vegas netminder Adin Hill, and the home team tied the game.
After a slog for most of the second period, a costly error from the Golden Knights put them on the back foot. Two players colliding with each other gave some of the Kings’ top players a dangerous chance in the offensive zone, finished off by Adrian Kempe beating Hills after a great pass from Anze Kopitar to give the home team the lead.
From there, however, the Golden Knights would dig in their heels and showcase the resilience that has been a key part of their game in recent months.
Within five minutes in the third period, Colton Sissons, Brandon Saad and Reilly Smith would score to push the Golden Knights to a multi-goal lead. Sissons managed to get a goal on a lucky bounce, while Saad and Smith finished off excellent plays in the offensive zone.
After Byfield’s second goal of the game pushed the Kings back to one, Dorofeyev struck again. After Jeremy Lauzon forced another penalty to get the Golden Knights back on the power play, Dorofeyev was able to get on the board to extend his team lead with 28 goals on the season. The goal was also the Russian winger’s 15th power play goal of the season, setting a new franchise record.
Brandt Clarke got a shot from the point to keep things interesting with just over a minute left, but Ivan Barbashev’s empty net goal sealed the deal on an impressive road win for the Golden Knights.
The Golden Knights now go coast-to-coast for a road matchup with the Washington Capitals on Friday, which will hopefully feature their full lineup.