The Golden Knights spent most of Friday night chasing again, and this time the push never got all the way there.
Vegas fell behind by three in the second period, cut into it twice in the third, and still dropped a 4-2 decision to the Minnesota Wild at T-Mobile Arena. The loss left the Golden Knights at 29-20-14, dropped them to 2-4 since the Olympic break, and pushed them one point behind Anaheim for first place in the Pacific.
Pavel Dorofeyev provided the bright spot for Vegas. His third-period power-play goal was his 30th of the season, making him the first player in franchise history to post back-to-back 30-goal seasons.
Second period gets away
The first period ended scoreless, but the game turned hard in the middle frame.
Mats Zuccarello opened the scoring at 14:42 of the second after a Vegas turnover, and the Wild kept coming. Zach Bogosian made it 2-0 at 11:53, then Michael McCarron tipped one home 18 seconds later to push the lead to 3-0.
That stretch defined the night. Vegas had some looks before and after it, including a Lauzon shot off the post and several chances around Filip Gustavsson, but the Wild were cleaner when the game broke open.
Dorofeyev reaches 30
Vegas finally got life early in the third.
With Zach Bogosian in the box for slashing, Dorofeyev scored on the power play at 17:43 remaining in the third. Jack Eichel and Braeden Bowman set it up, and Dorofeyev’s finish cut the deficit to 3-1 while putting him on 30 goals for the season.
The moment mattered, even in a loss. Dorofeyev became the first Golden Knight to hit 30 goals in back-to-back seasons.
Minnesota had the answer
Any real momentum from that goal didn’t last long enough.
Vladimir Tarasenko restored the three-goal cushion at 4-1 with 4:18 left in regulation. The Wild caught Vegas off balance off the rush, and Tarasenko finished the chance with Jared Spurgeon and McCarron on the assists.
Vegas answered one more time when Mitch Marner scored at 3:05 remaining, off feeds from Dorofeyev and Tomas Hertl, but that was as close as it got.
Too much chasing again
The bigger issue for Vegas was familiar.
The Golden Knights scored twice in the third, but they were already trying to climb out of another deep hole. That has been the pattern too often since the Olympic break, and Friday looked like another version of it.
Vegas did finish with 31 shots and forced Gustavsson into a busy night. However, the faceoff numbers told part of the story too. The Golden Knights won just 30.8 percent of the draws, while Minnesota controlled the dot at 69.2 percent.
That made puck possession harder to chase all night, especially once the Wild grabbed control in the second.
Stats that mattered
Vegas outshot Minnesota 31-24, but Gustavsson stopped 29 and the Wild finished better around the net.
Dorofeyev had a goal and an assist. Marner added a goal, and Eichel and Hertl each picked up an assist.
The Golden Knights went 1-for-1 on the power play. Minnesota went 0-for-1.
Minnesota also finished the season series 3-0 against Vegas.
Up next
Vegas stays home and hosts Edmonton on Sunday at 6:30 p.m. PT. It will be the second of four meetings this season after the Oilers took a 4-3 win on Dec. 21.
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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.
