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Golden Knights Analysis

Highlights & Analysis: Golden Knights Buffa-Blow Lead vs Sabres

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Buffalo Sabres right wing Alex Tuch (89) puts the puck past Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Adin Hill (33) for the game winning goal during a shootout in an NHL hockey game Saturday, March 15, 2025, in Buffalo, N.Y. (AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes)

The Vegas Golden Knights (39-19-8) are falling back into old habits. It’s four games in a row now where they’ve started poorly; on Saturday, they never fully woke up. They were out-worked, outshot, and out-chanced; eventually, they were out-scored. The Buffalo Sabres (26-33-6) tied the game late in the third period and won 4-3 in the shootout.

Much like in the game against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday, the Golden Knights couldn’t get much going early on. Unlike the game against the Blue Jackets, they didn’t flip the switch in the second period. Adin Hill kept them in the game through 40 minutes; the Sabres simply outplayed them. They had a bit more life in the third, but even then, it was like the Golden Knights were playing to not lose. 

Adin Hill had to be strong early. The Sabres outshot the Golden Knights 12-7 in the first period. But after 20 minutes, it was the Golden Knights with the 1-0 lead. 

Nic Hague started the rush, and Alex Pietrangelo sent a stretch pass to Tanner Pearson. Pearson entered the zone and left the puck for Ivan Barbashev. Barbashev passed back to Pearson, who threaded a pass right on the tape of Brett Howden’s stick. Howden was parked back door for an easy tap-in. 

Adin Hill took a delay of game penalty in the second period, but the penalty kill came up big. 

Tempers flared in the second period after Brett Howden leveled Jiří Kulich. It looked like a clean hit– Howden’s elbow was tucked, and his skates didn’t leave the ice– but Kulich went down in a heap and had to be helped off the ice. Howden had to answer the bell against Peyton Krebs; Krebs took an instigator penalty. Two minutes later, Keegan Kolesar dropped the gloves with Jordan Greenway off the face off.

At 12:06 in the second period, the Golden Knights extended their lead. Tomáš Hertl stripped Rasmus Dahlin of the puck and set up Pavel Dorofeyev for a one-timer. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made the save, but Dorofeyev potted his ownrebound. 

That two-goal lead only lasted seven seconds. Ryan McLeod won the face off back to Bowen Byram, who passed to his defensive partner Jacob Bryson. Bryson threaded a stretch pass to McLeod, who raced into the zone with a head of steam and fired a shot past Adin Hill. 

In the third period, the Golden Knights seemed to have some life. They managed some sustained offensive pressure, but Pavel Dorofeyev took an offensive-zone tripping penalty against Connor Clifton. Alex Pietrangelo turned the puck over to Jason Zucker, who gloved it down and beat Adin Hill glove side.

The Golden Knights scored the go-ahead goal with 2:33 left in the third period. Jack Eichel stripped the puck from Tage Thompson and drove into the zone. He curled away from Thompson and passed back to Nic Hague at the blue line. Hague sent the puck to Alex Pietrangelo, who threaded a pass to Mark Stone in the slot. Stone fired a clapper, Luukkonen kicked it out, and Eichel– who else?– potted the rebound. 

And then, the collapse. With 38 seconds in the third period, Tomáš Hertl forced a takeaway and had a clear shot at the empty net but passed it up and the Sabres took it down the other way. Adin Hill covered the puck, which set up a defensive zone face off. 

The Sabres won the draw. Rasmus Dahlin walked the blue line and passed to Ryan McLeod, who forced a pass to Tage Thompson. Mark Stone pestered Thompson; Bowen Byram collected the puck and passed to Dahlin, who blasted a one-timer past Hill with 13.6 seconds remaining in the third period.

Ivan Barbashev and Jack Eichel had chances to win it in overtime, but Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen was sharp.

Victor Olofsson scored for the Golden Knights in the shootout; the Sabres won off goals from Jack Quinn and Alex Tuch.

Golden Knights Game Notes

For the first time in his career, Pavel Dorofeyev has goals in three straight games. Three goals in three different ways, as well. He scored a one-timer on the power play against Pittsburgh, a five-hole clap shot against the Blue Jackets, and a greasy rebound today against the Sabres. He’s tied with Tomáš Hertl for the team lead in goals (27), and he’s developing into one helluva player. 

Jack Eichel’s go-ahead goal put him at 80 points on the season and extended his point streak to eight games.

Adin Hill was good. Do you want a save on that third goal? Maybe, but considering what led up to it, it’s hard to blame him. The Golden Knights let the Sabres stretch the ice on the first goal; on the second, Alex Pietrangelo turned the puck over. Hill saved the Golden Knights’ bacon in regulation. He made 12 saves in the first period and 12 in the third. 

Read More: Golden Knights Extend Adin Hill! Future Salary Cap Implications

Tomáš Hertl has to be feeling pretty awful right now. He had a clean look at the empty net, but tried to force the puck back to Jack Eichel. Owen Power broke up the pass, and Jack Quinn took it down the other way. Adin Hill made the save and covered the puck, but Rasmus Dahlin scored off the ensuing offensive zone face off. It was very reminiscent of Patrick Stefan’s empty net whiff in 2007. I get what Hertl was trying to do, and I understand why— Eichel still gets booed every time he touches the puck— but you can’t tempt fate like that. 

The worst part is that Hertl played a really great game otherwise. He was strong in the puck, and there were moments where he simply wouldn’t be denied. Take Pavel Dorofeyev’s goal, for example— he stripped the puck from Rasmus Dahlin, burst into the zone, and fed Dorofeyev for a one-timer. He was physically dominant, and he’s playing the best hockey I’ve seen from him in a long, long time. 

With 16 games remaining in the regular season, the Golden Knights are making an alarming number of mistakes. If it was just Saturday, you could write it off as a drowsy morning fluke—they played at 12:30 p.m. EST, 9:30 a.m. PST—but this has become a trend. It’s now four games in a row that the Golden Knights have started slow, dating back to the game against the Los Angeles Kings last Sunday. Bruce Cassidy ripped into the team for their efforts postgame. 

“It was a total lack of respect,” he said.

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