On the brink of a fifth loss in six games, the Vegas Golden Knights orchestrated a late comeback that likely dashed the hopes of the Seattle Kraken in their bid to re-enter the Western Conference playoff picture.
Jonathan Marchessault notched his second goal of the game with just 16 seconds remaining to force overtime, and Jack Eichel sealed the deal 3:01 into the extra session as the Golden Knights prevailed 5-4 on Tuesday night.
Facing a 4-2 deficit midway through the third period, Vegas rallied, earning crucial two points in the standings and stretching their lead over Seattle to nine points in the race for a wild-card spot in the Western Conference. The victory also put them six points ahead of Minnesota and eight points ahead of St. Louis, effectively dampening Seattle’s playoff aspirations.
“The desperation was for sure there and that’s what our team needs for the remainder of our year,” said Eichel. “We need to be desperate every night and points are at a premium. It was important to get two (points) tonight.”
Marchessault’s game-tying goal came with the Vegas net empty, capitalizing on a rebound from Eichel’s shot that fell to him with an open net. Marchessault, who also scored on the power play in the second period, has notched 37 goals this season, including five in his past two games.
The turning point for Vegas came with William Karlsson’s 23rd goal with 7:37 remaining, narrowing the gap to 4-3. It was a crucial goal, coming less than a minute after Oliver Bjorkstrand extended Seattle’s lead to two goals.
“We’re aware of the standings, and they’re behind us, chasing us, so to get away with the win was huge,” Karlsson remarked.
In overtime, both goalies, Adin Hill for Vegas and Philipp Grubauer for Seattle, made key stops, but Eichel’s breakaway goal, his 20th of the season and 200th career goal, secured the victory for the Golden Knights.
Seattle had rallied from a 2-1 deficit going into the third period with three goals to take a 4-2 lead, seemingly on the brink of a crucial two points in the playoff chase.
Matty Beniers and Brandon Tanev scored early in the third period to level the score and give Seattle the lead, respectively. Bjorkstrand’s breakaway goal extended Seattle’s lead to 4-2.
“I liked everything until we scored that fourth goal. I felt like at that point we somehow cut off the system a little bit, we got off the plan, and from that point, we were on our heels instead of being on the attack,” remarked Pierre-Edouard Bellemare.
Hill made 26 saves for Vegas, while Grubauer stopped 29 shots for Seattle. Jordan Eberle celebrated his 1,000th game, becoming the fifth player from the 2010 draft class to reach the milestone. Eberle, who signed a two-year contract extension with the Kraken last week, played his 1,000th game on Tuesday, marking his 221st appearance with Seattle.
