On Thursday, the Vegas Golden Knights returned home and hosted the Columbus Blue Jackets. Despite losing their starting goaltender early in the first period, the Golden Knights overcame a two-goal deficit. They weathered a late Blue Jackets push and held on for a 5-3 victory.
The Golden Knights lost Carter Hart early, forcing Akira Schmid into yet another relief appearance. Hart bumped into Boone Jenner and Jeremy Lauzon in the crease; off-balance, he landed awkwardly. Because the Golden Knights couldn’t get possession, the play wasn’t blown dead.
The injury took Hart out of the play, and the Blue Jackets capitalized. Zach Werenski let it fly from the left circle, and Jenner, still in the crease, tipped it through the injured goaltender.
The Blue Jackets doubled their lead at 10:41 in the first period. Kent Johnson entered the zone and found Sean Monahan in the left circle. Monahan drove deeper into the zone and centered for Johnson, who beat Akira Schmid far-side.
As was the case on Tuesday against the Winnipeg Jets, the Golden Knights improved after falling behind by two. They responded well and got on the board at 12:20 in the period. Mitch Marner set Ben Hutton up for a one-timer, and Reilly Smith tipped it past Jett Greaves.
In the second period, the Golden Knights found the equalizer and took a two-goal lead of their own. They outshot the Blue Jackets 8-5 and capitalized on their chances.
The Golden Knights pulled even at 5:19 in the period on a delayed penalty. Mark Stone gained the zone and found Mitch Marner in the high slot. Marner found Reilly Smith coming down the wing and ripped it past Jett Greaves for his second of the night.
The Golden Knights took their first lead of the game at 13:07 in the second. Mark Stone sent a stretch pass to Ivan Barbashev at the blue line, who entered the zone. Barbashev threaded a pass to Jack Eichel above the left circle, and Eichel beat Jett Greaves far-side.
The Golden Knights doubled their lead on the power play at 18:44 in the second. Below the goal line, Mark Stone surveyed the ice and sent a pass through the crease for Tomáš Hertl. Hertl returned the favor, giving Stone an easy tap-in to extend his goal streak to six games— a new career-high.
In the third period, the Golden Knights bent, but didn’t break. They outshot the Blue Jackets 11-10 and controlled 63.93% of the expected goal share. Columbus generated six high-danger scoring chances, but Akira Schmid answered when called upon.
The Blue Jackets cut the Golden Knights’ lead to one at 14:28 in the third period. Ivan Provorov found Dmitry Voronkov at center ice, and Voronkov deflected it into the Golden Knights’ zone. Undetected, Kirill Marchenko blew past the defenders, collected the puck, and beat Akira Schmid from in close.
After Marchenko’s goal, the Blue Jackets continued to press. However, the Golden Knights were up to the task and restored their two-goal lead less than two minutes later.
Tomáš Hertl won a board battle and sprung Keegan Kolesar and Brett Howden on a 2-on-1. Kolesar raced up ice, entered the zone, and set Howden up for his ninth goal of the season.
Down two goals once again, the Blue Jackets pulled Jett Greaves for the extra attacker with over three minutes remaining in regulation. Akira Schmid denied all four shots he faced, and the Golden Knights held on for a 5-3 victory.
