To quote that one Spongebob background character... finally. After a stretch of three brutal games and a generally poor time post-Olympics, the Golden Knights woke up and realized their backs may be against the wall.
With Anaheim and Edmonton threatening their playoff position, a stand was needed, and they capped off Thursday night with an utter demolition of the Pittsburgh Penguins. For the first time in what feels like forever, virtually everything clicked for the guys in gold, and suddenly, there might be a bit of hope in T-Mobile Arena. Let's delve into what went right for Vegas entering the weekend.
The offense shakes virtually every monkey off its back
In the briefest terms possible, everything that could go right did go right for VGK's offense on Thursday. Well, almost everything, as Adin Hill's late goalie-goal attempt unfortunately got caught in traffic. Aside from that, though, it was the antithesis of recent Vegas games: the Golden Knights scored first (and second!), ran up a two-goal lead twice in the second period, and scored three-plus goals for only the second time in their last eight games. On the latter two points, it was the first time they'd held a multi-goal lead since the LA game immediately after the break, and the first time they got three or more in regulation since then as well. I like to think Mark Stone's return energized them a bit.
Pavel Dorofeyev had himself a night too, with two goals, an assist, and a near-Gordie Howe hat trick by virtue of what was ruled a roughing double-minor, rather than fighting major. With 16 games to go, he's now surpassed last year's career-high in points, and seems likely to surpass his high in goals as well. We can only pray that he's extended before it's too late.
Finally, the cherry on top had to be the goal Dorofeyev assisted on. While cutting in on the net, Mitch Marner got tripped by the stick of Arturs Silovs and went flying. However, it didn't matter:
ANOTHER EDITION OF MARNER MAGIC 🪄 pic.twitter.com/vmKUtfaVWs
— NHL (@NHL) March 13, 2026
Absolute insanity, and I can't even imagine the hand-eye coordination it takes to bat that puck in while mid-air.
Jack Eichel and Braeden Bowman also contributed multi-point nights in the win, with Eichel scoring a goal for the third straight game. Pretty, pretty good, I'll say.
Is Adin Hill... heating up?
It's no secret that the once-Stanley Cup Finals starter has had a difficult season, to say the least. However, your eyes are not deceiving you: against a Pittsburgh team that dropped five goals on him last week, Hill allowed only two goals on 26 shots Thursday, locking the Penguins down completely in the first and third periods. That includes the nearly seven minutes Pittsburgh played with an extra man after pulling Arturs Silovs early. It was the sort of bounceback effort we've hopedm for all year.
The advanced stats agree here, too. After a solid-if-unspectacular performance against Dallas, Hill turned in an incredible game against the Penguins, posting a 2.53 goals saved above expected. That's right: purely off the way they played, Pittsburgh should've had nearly five goals, and yet Hill himself stood tall to keep them at just two. For the first time in a very long time, the Golden Knights legitimately goalied a team. Who knows if it continues, but still, it's a nice trend for now.
Overall, this was a big win headed into another winnable-on-paper game against the Blackhawks on Saturday. Here's to keeping the weekend momentum going!