The Vegas Golden Knights extended their win streak to four games thanks to two goals from Ivan Barbashev and three points from Victor Olofsson and Mitch Marner in a 5-3 victory over the Utah Mammoth. At one point, the home team held a 4-1 lead, only to watch its advantage shrink to 4-3 until William Karlsson restored the two-goal cushion shortly after.
Jack Eichel opened the scoring in the first period with a power-play goal, while Carter Hart made 14 saves to earn his sixth win of the season. Overall, nine Vegas players earned a point as the Golden Knights continue to keep pace with the Edmonton Oilers for the top spot in the Pacific Division.
Win: How Swede it is! Victor Olofsson drives the offense
Everyone wondered who would step up in the absence of Pavel Dorofeyev, and within a few games, Victor Olofsson emerged as the obvious answer. At the beginning of the season, he was acting like the straw that stirred the drink, producing great secondary scoring behind Eichel, Marner, and Mark Stone. When he missed some time with an injury, Vegas was a different team, and it wasn’t rattling off four-game win streaks with ease. On Wednesday night, Olofsson led the Golden Knights’ offense with three points, including a power-play goal in the second. In seven games, the 31-year-old Swede is now up to nine points and is one of four players with more than a point-per-game average.
Sin: Carter Hart’s inability to stay sharp during inactivity
Barbashev scored two goals within four minutes, giving the home team a comfortable 4-1 lead heading into the final minutes of the second period. At one point in the middle frame, Utah went 16 minutes without a shot on goal, and just when the TNT announcers mentioned it, Jack McBain scored on their very next shot. Hart remained on his knees as Utah moved the puck into the circle, allowing McBain to rip a shot into the top corner.
Even though the Golden Knights escaped with the win, that late second-period goal at 16:39 could have been a significant momentum swing. Things were quiet between the two teams to begin the third, and Dmitri Simashev scored at 9:07 to make it a one-goal game. Usually, Vegas comes out slow and scrambles over the final 40 minutes, hoping for a lucky bounce to get back into the game. Instead, Utah was in that position, and part of the blame falls on Hart’s shoulders for not staying sharp.
Win: Ivan Barbashev registers his 15th career multi-goal game
Even though Barbashev has his name etched on the Stanley Cup twice, he’s recorded only one hat trick in his NHL career, which came on Mar. 21, 2019, when he was a member of the St. Louis Blues. Since joining the Golden Knights in 2023, he’s picked up 10 two-goal games, including his performance against the Mammoth on Wednesday. Moreover, he became the fourth different Vegas player to score at least twice in a game this season, joining Olofsson, Tomas Hertl, and Stone, who remains the only one with a hat trick.
Win: Mark Stone inches closer to the franchise scoring record
Stone had an assist on Eichel’s first-period power-play goal to give him 416 points as a member of the Golden Knights. Heading into the matchup against Utah, the Vegas captain needed two points to tie Jonathan Marchessault for the franchise’s all-time scoring record and is now one point closer with his efforts on Wednesday. With the Golden Knights beginning a five-game homestand and Stone averaging more than a point per game, Marchessault's time atop the franchise leaderboard could be coming to an end.
What’s next for the Golden Knights?
Vegas welcomes the Nashville Predators to T-Mobile Arena for a Friday night tilt, before the last-place Vancouver Canucks come to town on Sunday night.
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