The Golden Knights finally got the response they needed Sunday night.
Vegas beat the Stars 3-2 at American Airlines Center, snapping its skid with one of its sharper road wins of the season. Brayden McNabb opened the scoring, Ivan Barbashev tied it in the second, and Reilly Smith buried the winner late in the third as the Knights closed out a playoff-style game on the second half of a back-to-back.
The shot gap told the story too. Vegas outshot Dallas 33-15 and held the Stars to just nine shots over the final two periods.
McNabb starts it
Vegas did not wait around to chase this one.
McNabb led the rush himself and scored at 4:01 of the first period, finishing a coast-to-coast push after Keegan Kolesar moved the puck up and Shea Theodore joined the play. It gave the Golden Knights a 1-0 lead and an early jolt against a Dallas team that had given them trouble in the season series.
“I’ve been getting a lot of chances, so it’s nice to see one finally go in,” McNabb said. “Shooting the puck quite a bit, so good to get rewarded.”
Dallas answered on the power play at 10:55 when Wyatt Johnston tied it, then grabbed a 2-1 lead at 16:48 on Justin Hryckowian’s rebound finish. Even so, Vegas carried enough of the period to believe the game was there. The Golden Knights finished with a 7-6 edge in shots in the first, then took over from there.
Cassidy thought that mattered.
“I thought, like the first period yesterday, it was one of our better periods in terms of possession and territorially being the better team,” Cassidy said. “I think we gave up one chance the whole period. So, a lot of good things.”
Second unit answers
The equalizer came from the group that has been doing simple work lately.
After Dallas took penalties for delay of game and slashing in the second, Barbashev tied it 2-2 on the power play at 9:10. Brett Howden worked the puck from below the goal line, found Barbashev in front, and Barbashev settled it before lifting it home. Colton Sissons picked up the second assist.
Cassidy pointed to the execution on that faceoff look and the way the unit kept things direct.
“They made that low-seam play that the other group hasn’t been able to make lately,” Cassidy said. “So good for them. They’re keeping it simple, trying to play close to the net.”
Barbashev said the game felt tight from the start, and the Knights handled that style well.
“It felt like a playoff game, to be honest,” Barbashev said. “I think we controlled the game for the most part. Probably one of the better games all season long.”
The second period also turned on the kill.
Jack Eichel took a double minor for high-sticking at 11:41, with the game tied 2-2 and Dallas looking ready to swing the night back its way. Instead, Vegas killed the full four minutes, kept the Stars off the board, and came out of that stretch with the game still level. On a night when the Golden Knights had the territorial edge, that kill kept the game from tilting the wrong way.
“Today we dug in, got it done,” Cassidy said. “So that was a big part of the game too.”
That sequence felt even bigger in context. Less than 24 hours earlier in Nashville, Vegas failed to get through a key kill and watched the game turn against it. This time, the Golden Knights answered.
Hill holds up
Dallas made its push early in the third, and that is where the game could have slipped.
The Stars pressed for several extended shifts and forced Vegas to defend in its own end. Adin Hill held up through that stretch, then the Knights settled back in and started tilting the ice again.
“There was a little adversity, we pushed through it, playoff atmosphere,” Cassidy said. “For us now, we’ve got to carry it forward.”
McNabb saw the same thing from the crease out.
“They had a push in the third,” McNabb said. “We bent but didn’t break.”
Hill finished with 13 saves, but the timing of them mattered as much as the total. McNabb said the bounce-back was important after the loss in Nashville.
“We knew he’d be good,” McNabb said. “He was great tonight. A couple big saves in the third.”
Vegas also tightened up in front of him. Dallas had just three shots in the second and six in the third, a sharp contrast from the opening period and another sign the Knights controlled the game after falling behind.
“We did a great job,” McNabb said. “When we do that, we’re pretty good. And then the back pressure from the forwards always helps. So, as a five-man unit, six-man with the goalie, we did a solid job.”
Smith seals it
The winner came from a line that had been around the puck all night.
With 3:38 left in regulation, Mitch Marner fought through pressure high in the zone and kept the play alive. The puck bounced loose to Smith, who snapped it home from in tight for the 3-2 lead. Pavel Dorofeyev added the second assist.
It was a big moment for Smith, who has dealt with an uneven season but delivered when Vegas needed one more finish.
“It’s awesome to see,” McNabb said. “Such a good teammate. Came in, was ready, was prepared like we knew he would be, and he had a big game for us.”
The Golden Knights then handled Dallas’ late 6-on-5 push and kept most of the danger outside. Cassidy liked the way his team closed, especially against a Stars group that can create quickly with the extra attacker.
“I thought we defended really well,” Cassidy said. “We kept them to the outside.”
Vegas did more than survive this one. The Golden Knights were the better team for long stretches, owned the shot count, won the biggest kill of the night, and finally got rewarded for it.
“I thought we did,” Cassidy said, when asked if Vegas deserved the win. “If you keep playing well and play like the better team, then sooner or later you’re going to end up on the right side of the scoreboard.”
For one night, the Golden Knights did.
Standings watch
The win pushed Vegas past Edmonton and into second place in the Pacific Division at 32-25-14 (78 points). Anaheim remains on top at 39-27-4 (82 points), while Edmonton slipped behind the Golden Knights at 34-28-9 (77 points).
With 11 games left in the regular season, that movement matters. Vegas is now four points back of the Ducks and one point ahead of the Oilers, so Sunday’s win gave the Golden Knights both a lift in the race and a little breathing room behind them.
Up next
The Golden Knights wrap their road trip Tuesday against the Winnipeg Jets at Canada Life Centre, 5:00 p.m. PT.
Vegas then returns home for three straight at T-Mobile Arena, starting Thursday against the Oilers, 6:30 p.m. PT. After that, the Knights host the Capitals on Saturday, 7:30 p.m. PT, and the Canucks on March 30, 7:00 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.
