Vegas came out of the Olympic break without Jack Eichel, Mark Stone and several other Olympians, then looked like itself anyway.
The Golden Knights trailed after 40 minutes, but a five-goal third flipped the game and finished a 6-4 road win over the Kings at Crypto.com Arena. “I liked our defensive effort, actually, a lot,” coach Bruce Cassidy said, pointing to structure and puck management even in a four-goal against night.
Pavel Dorofeyev led it with two goals, and Vegas got scoring from the places it needed to find.
Dorofeyev strikes first
Pavel Dorofeyev gave Vegas the early lead, and it came off a bounce and a quick decision.
Tanner Laczynski missed wide on a 2-on-1, but the puck kicked back into Dorofeyev’s lane. Dorofeyev snapped it home at 9:01 to make it 1-0, with Laczynski and Reilly Smith earning the assists.
Los Angeles answered on the power play. With Rasmus Andersson in the box for slashing, Quinton Byfield redirected a play at 5:29 to tie it 1-1. Artemi Panarin picked up an assist in his Kings debut, with Brandt Clarke also credited.
Kings edge ahead
The second period stayed tight, and the game stayed one play away from swinging back.
The Kings took a 2-1 lead at 5:16 when Adrian Kempe finished a rush chance, with Anze Kopitar and Panarin on the helpers. Vegas had looks at the other end, but Anton Forsberg kept it in front.
The other second-period headline was the temperature spike. Jeremy Lauzon and Corey Perry fought at 8:13, and Perry tacked on an instigator and misconduct. Vegas kept its composure, and the score stayed close.
Third-period avalanche
Vegas didn’t tiptoe back into the schedule. It turned the third period into a track meet it could finish.
Colton Sissons tied it 2-2 at 11:53, then the Knights hit another gear. Brandon Saad scored at 8:44, and Smith followed at 7:39. Three goals in 4:14 turned a one-goal deficit into a 4-2 lead.
The Kings pushed back. Byfield made it 4-3 at 6:34, but Dorofeyev answered on the power play at 4:01 to restore the two-goal cushion. LA pulled within one on Clarke’s point shot at 1:06, and then Ivan Barbashev closed it out into the empty net at 0:28.
Cassidy didn’t pretend he saw six coming. “Nope, I did not,” he said. Vegas got there anyway.
What they said
Cassidy kept the focus on the details that travel.
“That’s going to be an area of focus the second half no matter who’s in the lineup,” he said of puck management. “Risky plays or turnovers at the wrong time is what leads to good chances.”
Dorofeyev pointed to the standard, not the names missing.
“Maybe we looked a little bit different on the paper tonight, but we’re still the Golden Knights and that’s how we play,” he said.
Sissons said the message was simple with a patched-up lineup.
“We wanted to keep it simple and limit the turnovers and giving them free offense,” he said.
Laczynski summed up the third-period swing in one clean line.
“Things can change quickly in this game, especially coming off a long hiatus like that,” he said.
Stats that mattered
Vegas scored five times in the third period, matching the most goals in a period in franchise history. Pavel Dorofeyev’s power-play goal at 15:59 was his 15th power-play goal of the season, setting a new single-season Vegas record. Tanner Laczynski finished with three assists for the first three-assist game of his NHL career, and Colton Sissons returned after missing 12 games and scored to spark the third-period push. Vegas also won the shot battle 25-19, blocked 24 shots, and took one minor penalty all night.
Up next for VGK
Vegas’ winning streak is now three games, and the Golden Knights (28-16-14, 70 points) carry a five-point lead in the Pacific going into a road-heavy run. Next up is Friday, Feb. 27 at the Washington Capitals (4 p.m. PT), followed by Sunday, March 1 at the Pittsburgh Penguins (10 a.m. PT). The trip continues Tuesday, March 3 at the Buffalo Sabres (4 p.m. PT) and Wednesday, March 4 at the Detroit Red Wings (4 p.m. PT).
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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.
