Pavel Buchnevich of the St. Louis Blues was about to go on a breakaway when Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Noah Hanifin tripped him only thirty seconds into overtime. The Golden Knights goaltender Logan Thompson was awarded a penalty shot by the referees, and Buchnevich’s stick found the back of the net, giving St. Louis a chance to close the gap on the final playoff berth to just three points.
Thompson pulled off the victory.
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Jonathan Marchessault (39), a winger for the Golden Knights, scored 19 seconds later. At the Enterprise Center on Monday, the Golden Knights defeated St. Louis 2-1 in a significant and exciting game. With the victory, the Golden Knights now lead St. Louis by five points for the last wild-card place in the Western Conference. Marchessault is just one of his 40 goals scored in the year.
With a goal late in the third quarter, St. Louis forced overtime and turned a four-point lead into a two-point swing. Brandon Saad was fed by Jordan Kyrou off the rush, close to the net. With 5:07 left in the game, Saad (23) finished the opportunity behind Thompson with ease, sending the teams into overtime knotted 1-1.
For the victory, Thompson made 31 stops, including two in overtime.
The Golden Knights were the superior team for the first two quarters, outshooting St. Louis 12–6 in the second, as they have in recent games. But Jordan Binnington, the goalie for St. Louis, made 32 saves to keep his club in the contest. With four shots apiece, Nicolas Roy and Nic Hague lead the Golden Knights.
Once again, the Golden Knights got off to a strong start. Before Doroyev (11) brought the puck to the net, Pavel Doroyev and Anthony Mantha worked the cycle on the right wall. He outmuscled Binnington from the top of the crease, with no St. Louis defender in his way.
But it wasn’t until Marchessault’s overtime winner that the Golden Knights scored again.
There was some excitement in the midst of the first period. Brayden McNabb of the Golden Knights and Brayden Schenn of the Blues got into a good brawl. HockeyFights.com reports that 50% of respondents believed McNabb prevailed in the duel, while only 17% said Schenn did.
There are 10 games left for the Blues and 11 for the Golden Knights. With their narrow 3-2 victory over the Vancouver Canucks on Monday, the LA Kings have now won four straight games. The Golden Knights are still two points behind LA. Now, four of the last five games have been won by the Golden Knights. This evening at Bridgestone Arena, they take on the ferocious Nashville Predators. Since head coach Andrew Brunette called off the team’s outing to see U2 at the Sphere, Nashville has scored points in 17 straight games.