Trevor Connelly scored the deciding goal in the fifth round of a shootout as the Vegas Golden Knights overcame an early three-goal deficit to defeat the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-3 on Thursday at T-Mobile Arena.
Toronto built a quick advantage in the opening frame. Jack Roslovic put the Maple Leafs ahead just 34 seconds into the game with a backhand shot, assisted by Auston Matthews and Kirill Marchenko. Easton Cowan doubled the lead at 3:20 with a snap shot, set up by Chris Tanev. Nick Paul pushed the margin to 3-0 at 8:37 with a slap shot for his first goal of the season, with Darren Raddysh and Gavin McKenna picking up assists. Mark Stone began the Vegas response at 17:36, beating Sergei Bobrovsky with a slap shot off feeds from Jack Eichel and Ivan Barbashev.
The Golden Knights erased the remaining deficit early in the second period. Brett Howden scored his first goal of the season at 1:12 on a deflected shot assisted by Mitch Marner and William Karlsson. Less than three minutes later, Eichel drew Vegas level at 3:38, scoring unassisted with a wrist shot on a penalty shot. Following a scoreless third period and overtime, the game proceeded to a shootout. Braeden Bowman and Marchenko each converted in the first round before Connelly delivered the winner in the fifth, and Adin Hill stopped John Tavares to seal the victory.
Hill stopped 21 of 24 shots in regulation and overtime before turning aside four of five Maple Leafs attempts in the shootout. Bobrovsky reached a milestone with 40 saves on 43 shots in the overtime loss as Vegas outshot Toronto 43-24. Neither club generated a goal with the man advantage, as Toronto went 0 for 1 on the power play and Vegas finished 0 for 4.
The win improved Vegas to 4-1-0 on the season and extended its winning streak to three games. Toronto moved to 2-2-1 with the shootout loss.
The Maple Leafs host the San Jose Sharks on Monday, October 19. The Golden Knights will host the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday, October 20.
