Four days after a fun night in Vegas, the rematch in Pittsburgh had a much less happy ending. The Golden Knights lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins, 3-2, in overtime thanks to Erik Karlsson’s ninth of the season 48 seconds into the extra frame. It was the fifth shot the Pens had since the start of the third period. As nice as the point is standings wise, this was a winnable game for Vegas. Here are my three takeaways from a slightly “ARGH!”-onizing night in Pittsburgh.
this one got us a point tonight 👍 pic.twitter.com/aA2ePA6w9b
— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) March 12, 2025
Missed chances for Vegas floating all over the Allegheny
Vegas had back-to-back 30+ shot efforts for the first time since February 8-22. Unfortunately, at least three separate occasions, the Golden Knights had a gaping chunk of net to work with and came up empty. That's four if you're counting Jack Eichel’s initial second period shot that squeezed past Tristan Jarry five-hole and trickled six inches away from the net.
Tomas Hertl missed a wraparound attempt in the third period. There was Eichel after that aforementioned shot in the second period, missing the juicy rebound that he didn’t notice till a tenth of a second too late. Finally, there was Victor Olofsson in the first with a nice deflection chance that sailed high.
You could probably find others from the 32 other shots that Jarry saved tonight. But this is a storyline you’d prefer to have stay here, especially with a scrappy Columbus team coming Thursday night.
Untimely defensive lapses sour better team performance
On the whole, it was a much better team performance defensively by Vegas compared to Sunday night against Los Angeles. They gave up the least shots to an opponent since the 15 they gave New Jersey back on February 6. But when they were most needed, they fell flat as a piece of cardboard. The first and last Penguins goal came with a Golden Knights player drifting just enough to provide a sizable chunk of real estate for them to work with.
Ilya Samsonov didn’t do himself any favors either tonight from those lapses, souring a normal (for him) night in net. But in a game where Pittsburgh had more blocked shots (22) than actual shots (15), the slightest screwups will end up as damaging as a Photon Blast from Captain Marvel.
Another long road trip, another less than stellar start
In road trips of three or more games, the Golden Knights are 1-5-0 in the first game of the road trip so far this season. They were outscored in those six games 21-12. The last time they started one with a win was the big comeback win December 12 against Winnipeg. With one big road trip left after this one and the postseason five weeks out, it’s a stat that Vegas would do well to try and squelch.
Next on the Marquee:
We hit the halfway point of the four-game roadie with a trip to Columbus Thursday night to take on the Blue Jackets at 4 P.M. Last time was a tough affair that could’ve doubled as a sleep aide. We’re catching them after a 5-3 loss earlier tonight to the New Jersey Devils. We’re also catching them after they’ve given up three or more goals in their last five games. Pretty good sign that Vegas could buck the trend in long road trips and win the second game. We shall see in a couple of days. Till then…