Golden Knights Edge Flames in Overtime After Dramatic Comeback

CALGARY, Alberta — Reilly Smith scored his second goal of the game at 4:31 of overtime, leading the Vegas Golden Knights to a 3-2 victory over the Calgary Flames on Saturday night. This result reinforced Vegas’ hold on the Pacific Division and pushed the Los Angeles Kings into a playoff position.

Smith’s winning goal capped a dramatic game where Calgary mounted a late comeback. The Flames were down 2-0 before goals from Joel Hanley and Matt Coronato tied the game in the second and third periods, respectively. Golden Knights coach Bruce Cassidy praised Schmid’s efforts, stating, “Akira made some great saves when we needed them most.” Schmid had 21 saves in his first start this season, stepping in as Adin Hill rested and Ilya Samsonov remained sidelined due to injury.

Pavel Dorofeyev opened the scoring for Vegas with a backhander late in the first period, his 33rd goal of the season. Smith doubled the lead in the second, redirecting a shot from Shea Theodore. The Golden Knights are now 46-22-8 and 16-4-1 against the Pacific Division this season, holding a three-point lead over Los Angeles.

The Flames, with a record of 36-27-13, found themselves trailing until Hanley’s quick shot with eight seconds left in the second period ignited their comeback hopes. Coronato then tied the game just 43 seconds into the third. Despite leading in shots on goal 34-23, Calgary struggled on the power play, failing to convert on four opportunities.

Dustin Wolf, the Calgary goaltender, recorded 31 saves, emphasizing the Flames’ defensive resilience despite their overtime loss. “That’s a huge point for us down the stretch here,” said Wolf, reinforcing the importance of each game as the playoffs approach.

In overtime, the Golden Knights capitalized on a fortunate bounce when Smith’s backhand shot deflected off Flames defenseman MacKenzie Weegar and trickled past Wolf into the net. The win is a significant morale boost for Vegas ahead of their upcoming game against the Vancouver Canucks.

With this win, the Golden Knights are awaiting their next challenge while the Flames are searching for crucial points to secure a wild-card playoff berth in the Western Conference, currently four points behind the idle Minnesota Wild.

The Flames will hit the road for their next two games against the San Jose Sharks and Anaheim Ducks before returning home to face Minnesota on Friday.