Brossoit gets the save of the year in a 3-2 shootout loss to Stars

The two Western Conference division leaders faced off on a late February Saturday night and the game was nothing short of having a playoff-like atmosphere. Both goaltenders were nothing short of spectacular. Laurent Brossoit gets the save of the year in a 3-2 shootout loss. Playing in his third straight game in net, Brossoit helped the Golden Knights get to a 6-0-2 record since the All-Star break.

High energetic start gives Golden Knights a promising start

With 16:57 left, Brett Howden had a massive shot that resulted in a clutch Jake Oettinger save. A half minute later, Paul Cotter on a Jack Eichel pass launched a backhander against Oettinger. The opening eight minutes saw the Golden Knights outshoot the Stars 6-0. The first Stars shot came at 7:55 with Laurent Brossoit getting an easy save. Golden Knights with a solid effort controlling the puck and the narrative for the better part of the period.

After a Jason Robertson shot on goal, the Golden Knights got an odd man rush on the Stars but William Carrier was called for interference in the process and was then called for abuse of officials ticking on an additional two minutes.. The Carrier penalty gave the Stars a four minute power play with 5:59 left in the period. During the Stars power play, Brossoit made a pair of clutch saves on Robertson and Joel Pavelski. The Golden Knights would also make an effort on a pair of short handed opportunities.

After killing off the Carrier double minor, the Stars would get called for a penalty of their own with Ty Dellandrea getting called for holding the stick. Reilly Smith got off a series of shots on Oettinger but the game remained scoreless through the first intermission.  The Golden Knights outshot the Stars 14-5 in the opening period.

Golden Knights 0, Stars 0 – 1st Intermission

The breakdown..

Overall, a great overall start by the Golden Knights. While there was no score, the effort and energy early on is miles ahead of their previous start against the Calgary Flames. Taking an unsportsmanlike penalty is highly inexcusable for Carrier, but the result could have been worse. Killing off the double minor was strong defensive statement from Cassidy’s squad.

Penalties and Shots allowed.. Dallas reaching for the Stars

With 17:96 left in the second, Keegan Kolesar was called for tripping. A minute into the Kolesar penalty, Brayden McNabb was called for hooking on Robertson. Brossoit during the penalty kill, was not short of spectacular with a series of saves on the Stars attack. The Stars got off seven shots on the power play and failed to put the biscuit in the basket.

Michael Amadio would get the Vegas Golden Knights on the board first with a solid pass by McNabb. The goal is Amadio’s tenth of the season. Just two minutes later, Wyatt Johnston by way of Dellandrea, would even the score at a goal a piece. The Stars had taken control of the puck for the most part after the Amadio goal. The Stars in the second period got 21 shots on goal against the Golden Knights, which tied a franchise record for shots allowed in a period.

Golden Knights 1, Stars 1 – 2nd Intermission

The breakdown…

The Dallas Stars acted quick after the Amadio goal and virtually dominated the period and it could have been a major disaster. The Golden Knights also need to find a way to stay out of the penalty box. The good news is that the Golden Knights basically averted disaster only allowing the one goal. With the score even, Cassidy and company have to be counting their blessings. Brossoit was unbelievable in the second period and he tied a franchise record for saves in a period in the process.

Brossoit, Eichel headline the vibe as Hintz ties it late

The Golden Knights got a power play with 18:31 left on an interference call on Ryan Sutter against Chandler Stephenson. During the power play, the Golden Knights got four shots on the net but was not able to convert that into a goal. After the power play, the energy continued to see opportunities blossom in front of the goal.

With 4:37 left, Eichel would get the go ahead goal for the Golden Knights and it was a much needed one at that. The entire period was a back and forth chess match on the ice. The Eichel goal was his 20th goal of the 2022-23 season. As the period winded down, the Stars pulled Oettinger with 1:57 left in the game. The Stars pressure resulted in a Roope Hintz game tying goal with 38 seconds left in the period. After a league initiated review, the goal stood to force overtime.

Golden Knights 2, Stars 2 – End of Regulation

Brossoit gets the save of the year!

For the third straight game, the Golden Knights will finish the game in an overtime period. This assures a ninth straight game that the Golden Knights will earn a point in the standings. The action of the overtime period was nothing short of amazing. Both teams produced excellent opportunities and then Brossoit made what was possibly the save of the entire NHL season. Neither team would convert after five minutes resulting in a shootout, which the Stars would win 3-1.

The breakdown…

The fact that a game like that ends in a shootout is a true tragedy. The performance of Laurent Brossoit is the best performance of the year and he made what could end up being the save of the year. The Golden Knights have to improve on the way they close out games if they intend to make a deep playoff run.

Game Notes

• The shootout loss gives the Golden Knights a record of 35-18-6 (76 points).
• The second period saw two franchise records being tied. The number of shots given up in a period and the number of saves made by a Golden Knight goaltender in a period.
• Since the All-Star break, the Golden Knights are 6-0-2.
• With the assist on the Jack Eichel goal, Jonathan Marchessault now has 399 career NHL points to his credit.
• The Golden Knights next game will be against the Avalanche on the road in Denver. The two teams have split their season series to date with both teams getting wins on the road against the other.
• In the standings, the Golden Knights have a two point lead on the Los Angeles Kings for first place in the Pacific Division. The Dallas Stars, who lead the Central Division, are also just two points behind Vegas in the standings.
• If the playoffs were to start after the games were completed, the Golden Knights would face the Minnesota Wild in the first round of the playoffs. The Dallas Stars would get the Seattle Kraken in the first round.

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