The Vegas Golden Knights overcame an early two-goal deficit and used a surge from Reilly Smith to beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 5-3 on Thursday night at T-Mobile Arena.
Smith scored twice, Mark Stone added a power-play goal to extend his goal streak to six games, and Jack Eichel and Brett Howden also scored as Vegas earned its second straight win of 2026. Akira Schmid stopped 21 of 23 shots in relief after Carter Hart left in the first period.
“When things happen to you, how do you respond?” Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy said. “They have faith in Akira coming in. They also care about the person who left the game. You’ve got to channel your focus into playing.”
A scary moment, then an early deficit
Columbus opened the scoring at 8:24 when Boone Jenner tipped in a point shot from Zach Werenski, with Sean Monahan also earning an assist.
On the same sequence, Hart appeared to be hurt during a scramble at the top of his crease. He dropped his stick and stayed down after the goal as play moved on. After a stoppage, Hart was helped off and did not return.
The Blue Jackets made it 2-0 at 10:41 when Kent Johnson scored from the slot, with Monahan and Jenner picking up the assists.
Vegas answered before the first intermission. Ben Hutton put a puck toward the net and Smith got a piece of it at 12:20 to cut the deficit to 2-1. Mitch Marner recorded the second assist.
“It means a ton,” Smith said. “Over a long season, things even out. It’s nice to see pucks go in and help the team win.”
Smith stays hot and the Knights flip the game
Vegas carried its push into the second period and tied it 2-2 at 5:19. Smith struck again, scoring on a wrist shot with assists credited to Marner and Stone.
Eichel put Vegas in front at 13:07, finishing off a play that ran through Ivan Barbashev and Stone to make it 3-2.
The Golden Knights then got breathing room late in the period. With Columbus shorthanded late in the period, Stone scored a power-play goal at 18:44, with Tomas Hertl and Eichel earning the assists. Vegas took a 4-2 lead into the third.
“We stuck with our confidence,” Marner said. “First periods haven’t been great, but second and third periods we’ve been pushing. When five guys are connected, we’re hard to defend.”
A final push, then Howden shuts the door
Columbus made it a one-goal game at 14:28 of the third when Kirill Marchenko scored, with assists from Ivan Provorov and Adam Fantilli.
Vegas answered 1:46 later. Howden scored at 16:14, converting a feed from Keegan Kolesar to restore the two-goal cushion. Hertl picked up the second assist, and the Golden Knights closed out the final minutes without giving Columbus another clean look.
“We’re resilient,” Smith said. “We don’t want to play catch-up, but we know we can come back.”
The numbers that backed the comeback
Vegas finished with a 26-24 edge in shots and went 1-for-2 on the power play, while Columbus went 0-for-1. The Blue Jackets controlled the faceoff circle at 63.2 percent and led 28-19 in hits, but the Golden Knights blocked 20 shots and cleaned up their game after the opening ten minutes.
Cassidy said there was no immediate update on Hart after the game.
“Uh, nothing I can give you now,” Cassidy said. “He’s going to get a full evaluation probably tomorrow, so we’ll know fairly quickly.”
Up next for the Golden Knights:
The Vegas Golden Knights (19-11-12) stay home at the Fortress on Saturday, Jan. 10, welcoming the St. Louis Blues (17-18-8) at 7 p.m. PT in a rematch of last week’s 4-3 loss at Enterprise Center.
The Golden Knights hit the road Sunday, Jan. 11, visiting the San Jose Sharks (21-18-3) at 5 p.m. PT.
Vegas then continues its trip Wednesday, Jan. 14, visiting the Los Angeles Kings (18-14-10) at 7 p.m. PT.
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