Cole Sillinger scored 52 seconds into overtime to give the Columbus Blue Jackets a 2-1 win over the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday in Las Vegas.
Kent Johnson stole the puck from Vegas defenseman Alex Pietrangelo and went on a breakaway but was stopped by goalie Ilya Samsonov. Zach Werenski followed up with a rebound attempt that hit Samsonov’s pads and went to Sillinger, who put the puck into an empty part of the net.
Adam Fantilli also scored for Columbus, helping the team move past the Boston Bruins into the final Eastern Conference wild-card spot. Elvis Merzlikins made 25 saves for the Blue Jackets, who won three of their last four games.
Tomas Hertl scored for Vegas, which stayed tied with Edmonton for first place in the Pacific Division. Samsonov made 22 saves on 24 shots.
Vegas led 1-0 early in the first period when Hertl’s wrist shot from the left circle beat Merzlikins. This was Hertl’s 20th goal of the season, extending his point streak to 11 games (nine goals, six assists), just one short of the team record set by Jack Eichel in 2023-24.
Columbus tied it late in the first when Dmitri Voronkov knocked the puck away from under Samsonov’s pad. The puck slid across the crease, where Fantilli pushed it in off the skate of Vegas defenseman Nicolas Hague for his eighth goal in 12 games.
Vegas thought they had taken the lead late in the second period, but Ivan Barbashev’s rebound was waved off for goaltender interference after Eichel collided with Merzlikins.
Both teams had chances to win in the third period. Kirill Marchenko of Columbus had a backhand shot hit the crossbar with 7:39 left, and Shea Theodore of Vegas saw a shot clang off the crossbar with 2:36 remaining.
