The Vegas Golden Knights erased a three-goal deficit but fell 5-4 to the Dallas Stars in a shootout Thursday night at T-Mobile Arena. Still, Vegas banked a point in its first game home from a rough four-game road trip and stayed tied with Edmonton for first in the Pacific.
Reilly Smith and Ivan Barbashev pulled the Golden Knights within 4-3 in the third, then Mitch Marner tied it late to force overtime. Dallas finished it in the shootout.
First shot, first goal
Dallas needed one look to grab the lead.
Matt Duchene scored at 1:37 on the Stars’ first shot of the night, snapping a wrist shot past Adin Hill to put Vegas in a 1-0 hole early at T-Mobile Arena. Hill settled down after that, and the Golden Knights steadied the period, keeping it tight at 9-8 in shots even as Dallas controlled the faceoff circle.
Vegas had a chance to answer when Jason Robertson went off for hooking Jeremy Lauzon at 16:25, but the Golden Knights came up empty on the power play and went to the room still chasing 1-0 after one.
One shot of life, then Dallas poured it on
Keegan Kolesar tied it 1-1 at 4:07 for VGK when Mitch Marner slipped a pass into the slot and Kolesar snapped it past Jake Oettinger. It was Kolesar’s fourth goal in his last eight games, and it briefly looked like the Golden Knights had found a foothold.
That push didn’t last. Vegas had a clean look coming out of the penalty kill, but Rasmus Andersson couldn’t get enough on the shot, and Dallas flipped the ice right back. Mavrik Bourque struck twice to swing the period, scoring at 8:46 and again at 14:16, and then Wyatt Johnston added another at 16:43 to make it 4-1. Vegas kept generating looks, but the margin grew in a hurry.
The comeback that refused to die
Vegas finally flipped the third and turned a 4-1 hole into overtime. Smith cut it to 4-2 with a short-handed goal at 4:04, taking Keegan Kolesar’s feed and snapping his ninth of the season past Oettinger for Vegas’ second shorty of the year and its first since the sixth game of the season against Boston.
Then Barbashev made it 4-3 at 13:54, finishing a sequence that started with Rasmus Andersson and went through Mark Stone before Barbashev beat Oettinger on the blocker side for his first goal in 17 games. Later, with Adin Hill pulled for the extra attacker, Mitch Marner tied it 4-4 at 19:11 off Tomas Hertl’s assist to force overtime. Still, Hill kept Vegas alive earlier when a puck leaked under his left arm before he recovered with his blocker.
Five minutes of nothing but Hill
Overtime stayed scoreless and pushed the game to a shootout. Hill turned aside shots from Bourque, Robertson and Sam Steel to keep Vegas level.
Vegas had its looks, too, but Stone missed wide and Marner missed the net before having another attempt blocked by Steel. No penalties were taken in the extra session.
One shot to start it, one shot to end it
Robertson opened the shootout by beating Hill, then Pavel Dorofeyev and Jack Eichel were turned away by Oettinger to keep Vegas off the board. Duchene missed wide on Dallas’ second attempt, but Mikko Rantanen sealed it to give Dallas the shootout win.
Up next for the Golden Knights
The Vegas Golden Knights continue their homestand Saturday, Jan. 31, against the Seattle Kraken at T-Mobile Arena. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. PT. Seattle enters at 24-19-9 as of Thursday night.
Then, Vegas heads 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, as of Thursday night, sits at 28-22-3.
With only two games left before the NHL breaks for the Winter Olympics, the Golden Knights return to the Fortress for a two-game set against the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday, Feb. 5, then the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday, Feb. 6.
Related stories
VGK Stadium Series: Golden Knights vs Stars tonight, 2027 outdoor game set
Welcome to Dice City Sports — where we provide premium, exclusive, up-to-date news and analysis surrounding the Las Vegas sports scene. Follow along on social media, and check back for new articles daily!
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.
