Golden Knights Can't Hold On To Lead, Fall to Kings in OT

Adrian Kempe’s two goals propelled the Los Angeles Kings to a 4-3 overtime road victory over the Vegas Golden Knights.

Philip Danault and Andreas Athanasiou both added goals for Los Angeles.

The Golden Knights were led by Max Pacioretty, who scored two goals. Reilly Smith also scored his 14th goal of the season.

Vegas had multiple leads throughout the game, but they couldn’t hold off the Kings.

Golden Knights head coach Peter Deboer didn’t like his team's effort, despite the leads
they had.

“I didn’t love our night. I thought we were fortunate to be up two in the first. They were
probably better than us,” said Deboer. “They were hungrier. It’s one thing to be in defensive
position, it’s another thing to lose all of the puck battles.”

The Kings were the more aggressive team. They forced 10 Golden Knight giveaway, and won  the
majority of the puck battles along the boards.

The one bright spot for the Golden Knights is that Pacioretty found the back of the net for
the first time since December. He has been dealing with a wrist injury that made him miss some
games.

“I didn’t feel too confident in my game since I’ve come back and jumped in right away,” said
Pacioretty.

Pacioretty’s confidence and goal-scoring ability will be crucial down stretch for Vegas to gain
ground on the Pacific Division leading Calgary Flames.

The Golden Knights trail Calgary by two points, but the Flames have played three less games in than the Golden Knights at this point in the season.

The Golden Knights will look to end their three-game losing streak Sunday night, when they travel to San Jose
to take on the Sharks. They will be back at T-Mobile Area next Saturday to host the Colorado Avalanche, who defeated the Golden Knights last Wednesday in Center Jack Eichel's team debut.