Smith lifts Golden Knights past Coyotes in OT
LAS VEGAS -- Reilly Smith scored at 3:51 of overtime to give the Vegas Golden Knights a 3-2 victory over the Arizona Coyotes on Sunday night at T-Mobile Arena.
Smith took a pass from Jonathan Marchessault on the edge of the left circle and rifled a shot past Arizona goalie Scott Wedgewood. The win snapped a three-game losing streak for the Golden Knights (16-9-1), who improved to 5-0 in overtime.
Marchessault and Alex Tuch also scored goals for Vegas while Malcolm Subban had 31 saves to pick up the win.
Jakob Chychrun and Derek Stepan scored for Arizona, which has lost all four of its meetings with the Golden Knights, including two in overtime. Goalie Scott Wedgewood, who stopped 28 shots in blanking the New Jersey Devils on Saturday night, had 42 saves in the Sunday loss for the Coyotes (7-18-5).
Vegas grabbed a 1-0 early in the second period when Tuch took a long pass from defenseman Colin Miller in the left circle, then cut back in front of the net and beat Wedgewood to the glove side.
Arizona came back to tie it when Chychrun, playing his first game since undergoing knee surgery on Aug. 3, was left alone in the left circle and rifled a pass by Max Domi past Subban's stick side.
It took the Golden Knights just 18 seconds into the third period to regain the lead. Wedgewood kicked a save on a Nate Schmidt shot out into the slot, where a wide-open Marchessault blasted in the rebound.
Arizona came back to tie it on a power-play goal by Stepan at the 8:50 mark when the Coyotes center swatted in a rebound of a Domi shot that was spinning in the goal crease.
NOTES: Vegas C William Karlsson tied his career high for points in a season (25) with his assist on Marchessault's goal. ... Vegas D Deryk Engelland, who sat out the team's 7-4 loss on Friday night after taking a puck off his right hand a night earlier in Minnesota, returned to the lineup. ... Arizona entered the game tied for second in the NHL with 688 hits. ... Golden Knights G Marc-Andre Fleury, out with a concussion since Oct. 13, has resumed doing individual drills. Coach Gerard Gallant said that barring any setbacks, Fleury could take part in his first full practice on Wednesday. ... Arizona G Antti Raanta missed his sixth straight game with a upper-body injury. ... C Nick Cousins and D Joel Hanley were scratches for Arizona, while D Jon Merrill and D Brad Hunt were scratched by the Golden Knights.