Everything truly is bigger in Texas, and the Vegas Golden Knights will likely not have a more important win of the season.
On Sunday, the Golden Knights snapped a three-game losing streak in dramatic fashion with a 3-2 nail biter victory over the Dallas Stars.
The first period got off to a promising enough start. Four minutes in, Brayden McNabb channeled his inner Jack Eichel and went coast-to-coast on a Stars defense that was clearly caught off guard. The veteran defenseman would then beat Stars goaltender Casey DeSmith on his far side for his fourth goal of the season and to give the Golden Knights an early lead.
Eventually, Dallas’ power play was able to get to work, and some nice passing allowed Wyatt Johnston to bury his Stars franchise record 23rd goal on the man advantage.
Another defensive miscue from the Golden Knights would then find its way in the back of the net. A shot found its way to an uncovered Justin Hryckowian, who beat Hill on a rebound to give the Stars their first lead of the game.
In the second period, the second power play unit for the Golden Knights was able to make some noise for the second straight game. A nice pass from Brett Howden found Ivan Barbashev, who quickly fired it into the top far corner over a sprawling DeSmith. The goal was not only Barbashev’s 20th game, but broke a three-game scoring drought for all Vegas forwards.
The end of the second period and the beginning of the third were defined by penalties. The Golden Knights made an excellent kill on an Eichel double minor, while DeSmith would rob Rasmus Andersson with an incredible spinning save to preserve the tie on a Vegas power play.
After significant pressure throughout the final frame, it was the veteran Reilly Smith in his return to the lineup that made the difference. Taking advantage of chaos in front of the net with just over three and a half minutes remaining, Smith was able to find the puck drop in the crease and rifled it home to give the Golden Knights a lead they would never relinquish.
With serious momentum now in tow, the Golden Knights head north of the border to close out the road trip on Tuesday against the Winnipeg Jets.
