Golden Knights Victorious in OT After Blowing 3-1 Lead In 2 Minutes

The Vegas Golden Knights (39-20-6, 84 points) prevailed in overtime Thursday night, with Alec Martinez scoring the game-winner against the Tampa Bay Lightning (38-21-6, 82 points) to net the VGK a 4-3 win. 

The Golden Knights blew a 3-1 lead with 2:08 seconds left in a game that also saw 10 players get kicked out, and the Golden Knights dress their fourth-string goaltender. Tons to discuss in this one, so let's jump right in.

FIRST PERIOD

• With Adin Hill now injured, Jonathan Quick got the start for the Golden Knights, with the freshly-recalled Jiri Patera backing him up.
• Paul Cotter and Reilly Smith switched in the official line combinations, but lines would be all out of whack all game.
• 1-0 VGK GOAL- Just 27 seconds in, Keegan Kolesar scored on a tap-in off a 2-on-1 with Teddy Blueger.

• 1-1 TBL GOAL- Nikita Kucherov's shot created a juicy rebound to Brayden Point, who easily banged in his 40th goal of the season to tie the game.
• Zach Bogosian provided a big shot block on Alec Martinez's one-time shot from Chandler Stephenson.
• William Karlsson found Reilly Smith in the slot for a good chance, but Andrei Vasilevskiy made the stop.
• The Lightning then put together a couple of strong shifts with tons of puck possession but only got shots from the outside.
• Head coach Bruce Cassidy shuffled his line combinations, most notably playing Reilly Smith, William Karlsson, and Chandler Stephenson together.
• TBL PP- Brayden McNabb was called for tripping Nick Perbix.
• Reilly Smith did his best to make something out of nothing and got a strong shorthanded chance.

SECOND PERIOD

• The Golden Knights started the second period off by making several costly turnovers.
• Ross Colton was left all alone in front of the Golden Knight's goal, and Jonathan Quick was forced to make a huge save.
• The Golden Knights finally got their first shot of the period roughly 7 minutes in from Ivan Barbashev.
• Anthony Cirelli found a loose puck in front but missed the net on his shot opportunity.
• Nicolas Hague crushed Tanner Jeannot with a big hit.
• FIGHT- Tanner Jeannot went after Jack Eichel, and Brayden McNabb stood up for his teammate by dropping the gloves.
• TBL PP- Brayden McNabb got an extra penalty out of the scrum for roughing. The VGK came up with a big kill.
• TBL PP- Shea Theodore caught Pat Maroon up high with a high stick. There was blood, so it was a four-minute penalty.
• A massive scrum started by Alex Pietrangelo tripping Nikita Kucherov at the end of the second period.

THIRD PERIOD

• 4 on 4- The scrum that ended the second resulted in Steven Stamkos taking a retaliation penalty.
• TBL PP- After one penalty expired, the Golden Knights were on the penalty kill from the aforementioned Theodore penalty.
• 2-1 VGK GOAL- William Karlson scored shorthanded as he raced to a loose puck and directed it in without even shooting.

• VGK PP- Michael Eyssimmont was called for cross-checking Alec Martinez, which put the Golden Knights on their first powerplay of the game.
• 3-1 VGK GOAL- Shea Theodore's shot from the point on the powerplay was tipped in by Chandler Stephenson.

• After they gave up two goals, the Lightning pressured with several offensive zone chances at the other end.
• Yet another massive post-whistle scrum ensued after Patrick Maroon went after Keegan Kolesar.
• PENALTIES– The referees decided that everyone on the ice, minus the goaltenders, should be kicked out of the game as a result.
• This left the Lightning without Pat Maroon, Michael Eyssmont, Corey Perry, Cale Fleury, and Zach Bogosian.
• The Golden Knights had Keegan Kolesar, Brett Howden, Teddy Blueger, Nicolas Hague, and Zach Whitecloud kicked out.
• VGK PP- The only penalty that created a powerplay was Pat Maroon's high stick on Keegan Kolesar, which started the scrum. 
• The Golden Knights didn't score on the powerplay, and the Lightning, down by two, pulled Andrei Vasilevskiy with just under three minutes to go.
• 3-2 TBL GOAL: With just 2:07 seconds left, Nikita Kucherov fired home a slap shot to put the game within one.
• TBL PP- with 45.7 seconds left, Chandler Stephenson caught Mikhail Sergachev with a high stick.
• The Lightning took their timeout, Andrei Vasilevskiy was pulled again, and the Lightning's 6-on-4 started.
• 3-3 TBL GOAL- Brayden Point tied it up with 27.7 seconds left after Nikita Kucherov made a nice fake-shot pass.
• The Golden Knights blew a two-goal lead with 2:08 left, and the Lightning forced overtime. 

OVERTIME

• Nikita Kucherov dangled his way to the net with a series of beautiful dekes.
• 4-3 VGK GOAL- The Golden Knights prevailed in overtime as Alec Martinez dove to poke in Jack Eichel's shot.

GOLDEN KNIGHTS NOTES

• Ten players were kicked out of the game in the third period. TEN. 
• The Golden Knights persevered through two rough periods where the Lightning controlled most of the play.
• They had just four shots in the first period and five in the second. Four shots in the first matched a season-low.
• However, the Golden Knights were opportunistic in the third, scoring two crucial special teams goals.
• They then blew a two-goal lead with 2:08 left but capped it off in overtime with Alec Martinez's goal.
• With Adin Hill now injured, the Golden Knights recalled Jiri Patera, making him the sixth goaltender to dress for the team this season.
• Both Chandler Stephenson and William Karlsson snapped goal-scoring streaks of 12 and 15 games, respectively. 
• Keegan Kolesar, who scored his career-high-tying seventh goal of the season, scored 27 seconds into the game. He also scored 12 seconds into a game against the Kraken earlier this season.

VHN's Player of the Game: Alec Martinez

After all that, Alec Martinez ends it in overtime. Something he is well-known for.

Up Next: The Golden Knights will continue their five-game road trip against the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday at 4:00 p.m.