Tuesday night wasn't the best night for the Vegas Golden Knights (so many nights!). The team got off to another slow start, watching Sidney Crosby score two goals. Suddenly, the Pittsburgh Penguins had a 2-0 lead and were looking to pull a massive upset over the Golden Knights.
However, Pavel Dorofeyev got back to scoring goals in the second period. That made the score 2-1. Then, Noah Hanifin put on his Superman cape and saved a point for the road team with six seconds left.
NOAH HANIFIN FORCES OVERTIME WITH SIX SECONDS LEFT! @GoldenKnights | #VegasBorn | #NHLTonight pic.twitter.com/EB9aPAfkdY
— NHL Network (@NHLNetwork) March 12, 2025
In a game that Vegas didn't deserve to get any points from, they salvaged one against a middling Penguins team. Sure, they lost by a score of 3-2. It's also not an optimal start to the four-game road trip. However, it created separation in the Pacific Division standings with Edmonton being five points back.
Sometimes, you can outshoot an opponent 38-17 in a game and still come out on the losing end (hats off to Tristian Jarry, by the way). Sometimes, Crosby plays like he's the poster child of the NHL again and scores two key goals. That's just the way life works. You're not destined to go 82-0-0 in the NHL no matter how hard you try, after all.
Still, distance is distance no matter how you slice it. Sometimes, getting a loser point is better than being a complete loser. Hats off to Hanifin as well, who has three goals and three assists this month. He's stepped up in Shea Theodore's absence and quarterbacked the power play for Vegas.
What lessons can we learn from the Vegas Golden Knights losing to the Pittsburgh Penguins?
First, the Golden Knights must get off to faster starts. Not having Brett Howden and Ivan Barbashev for the game doesn't make matters easy. In fact, they were outhit by a count of 16-10. It was a type of style that they're not accustomed to.
But being outscored 3-0 in the first period in the last two games is an alarming trend. It signals that your unit isn't firing on all cylinders to start the game. Part of that falls on Bruce Cassidy, who's seen this problem happen with Vegas this season. Prepping your team before every game starts with getting them ready and on time.
It happened during their 3-8-3 stretch before the 4 Nations Face-Off break, where they couldn't get compelling shots off. It also explained why players such as Hanifin and Barbashev were slumping hard. That first-period dry spell seems to be rearing its ugly head again.
But it doesn't help that Ilya Samsonov reverted to his old ways. While Sidney Crosby was being, well, Sidney Crosby, his overly loose style haunted him again. When your defense does an excellent job limiting shots and you still lose the game, that's a problem.
If the Vegas Golden Knights continue getting off to slow starts like they did against the Pittsburgh Penguins, it'll be a long four-game road trip. The Columbus Blue Jackets have been a tough out at Nationwide Arena this season with a record of 20-6-4. Fans better hope that Hanifin and company carry some more magic in their pouches. Otherwise, getting the loser point won't be enough.