Pavel Dorofeyev scored twice in his 200th career game, but the Golden Knights closed their road trip 1-2-1 after a 3-2 overtime loss to the Canadiens on Tuesday at Bell Centre. Montréal erased an early deficit, then cashed in on a late power play that carried into overtime, where Jake Evans ended it at 1:02.
Dorofeyev’s unassisted two-on-one finish had Vegas up 1-0 after one, but Phillip Danault tied it in the second and Cole Caufield put Montréal ahead 2-1. He tied it again at 16:52 of the third, tipping in a feed from Ben Hutton, before a tripping call on Rasmus Andersson with 33 seconds left set up the overtime winner.
Dorofeyev strikes early, Knights carry 1-0 lead
Dorofeyev gave Vegas the start it didn’t have in Ottawa. He pounced on a turnover, then finished a two-on-one for an unassisted goal in his 200th career game, and the Golden Knights led 1-0 after one at Bell Centre.
Braeden Bowman had a front-row seat on the rush and, for a split second, thought the puck might find him instead. “Honestly, they’re pretty well on me, so for a second there I thought so,” Bowman told VGK rinkside reporter Ashali Vise during the first intermission. “But then when you have time with the puck, you want to shoot every time.”
Montréal pushed early and played fast, but Akira Schmid answered with stops on Cole Caufield and Ivan Demidov. Meanwhile, at the other end, Jakub Dobes kept the Canadiens close with saves through traffic as Vegas generated the cleaner looks late in the period.
Challenge wins, scoreboard flips
Vegas carried its 1-0 lead into a messy second period, and for a moment it looked like a video review would save it again.
The Golden Knights took the first penalty when Ivan Barbashev tripped Jake Evans at 0:36, and later in the period a Canadiens goal came off the board after an offside entry at 18:47. The Canadiens scored on the play, but Vegas challenged and the replay confirmed the offside, wiping the goal off the board and keeping it 1-0.
The reset did not last. Phillip Danault tied it at 4:24 when he tipped in Zachary Bolduc’s feed to make it 1-1, and Cole Caufield, the same threat who had a goal erased earlier, struck later in the period for the lead at 8:55. Caufield finished off a play from Noah Dobson and Mike Matheson to put Montréal in front 2-1.
Akira Schmid kept Vegas from falling behind by more, turning aside several clean looks as Montréal pushed the pace. At the other end, Jakub Dobes matched him and Vegas did not finish on its best rush chances, including two odd-man looks where Jack Eichel tried to feed Mark Stone, but the puck bounced over Stone’s stick before he could get a shot away.
Third-period push, late twist
Vegas came out flying in the third and started stacking shifts in the Montréal zone. It also drew two power plays. Still, Jakub Dobes kept the door shut and the score stayed 2-1.
Then the posts showed up. Noah Hanifin rang a shot off the right iron, and Tomas Hertl hit metal later as the Knights kept pressing.
At last, Dorofeyev broke through again. Ben Hutton and Braeden Bowman worked the puck to the crease, and Dorofeyev tipped it in at 16:52 to tie it 2-2 and give him two goals in his 200th career game.
From there, special teams took over. Oliver Kapanen went off for interference at 18:23, giving Vegas a late power play and a few good looks, including one from Mark Stone. However, a tripping call on Rasmus Andersson with 33 seconds left swung momentum back to Montréal and handed the Canadiens a power play that carried into overtime.
Montréal made that 4-on-3 count. Akira Schmid turned aside an early backhand chance from Juraj Slafkovsky and a look from Lane Hutson, and Jack Eichel tested Dobes at 1:13. Seconds later, Jake Evans found a seam and scored the winner at 1:02 of overtime off a feed from Alexandre Texier, lifting the Canadiens to a 3-2 decision.
Up next for the Golden Knights
Next, the Vegas Golden Knights return home to open a homestand Thursday, Jan. 29, against the Dallas Stars at T-Mobile Arena. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. PT. Dallas enters at 29-14-9.
Then Vegas continues the homestand Saturday, Jan. 31, against the Seattle Kraken at T-Mobile Arena. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. PT. Seattle enters at 22-19-9.
Finally, the Golden Knights head back on the road Sunday, Feb. 1, to face the Anaheim Ducks at Honda Center. Puck drop is set for 6:30 p.m. PT. Anaheim enters at 28-22-3.
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Dice City Sports editor Mark Hebert covers the Vegas Golden Knights, Las Vegas Raiders, Athletics, and UNLV baseball and softball. He has 24 years of journalism experience, is also a senior reporter at Exhibit City News, and previously covered the Dallas Stars and Texas Rangers. Follow him on X or connect on LinkedIn.
