(Winslow Townson-Imagn Images) Hannah Kirkell Tue, November 3, 2026 at 5:13 AM UTC · 5 min read About Our Ads Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The NHL regular season is long, and one game isn't a large enough sample size to draw a reliable conclusion. Even the best teams fall into a rut, so if you want to know what a team is really made of, then it's better to look at a stretch of games. The Vegas Golden Knights are in one of those ruts right now, but slowly but surely, they're climbing out of the hole they dug.
After going 8-2-0 in their first 10 games, the Golden Knights have won just one of their last six. Tonight, they fell 3-2 in a shootout ; however, despite the loss, their display against the Boston Bruins on Monday was the best they've played in weeks.
When you're going through that kind of a rough patch, taking a step in the right direction doesn't necessarily translate directly to the win column. But tonight, the Golden Knights finally felt like they got to their game, and that makes all the difference.
"All in all, definitely a step in the right direction for the way we've been playing," Golden Knights captain Mark Stone said following the 3-2 shootout loss. "Two [points] is better than one, but you take the good with the bad."
"We got a point," said Golden Knights head coach Ryan Craig. "Now we move on to Pittsburgh, and we build on it. That's our job— just kind of build on it and get two tomorrow."
The Golden Knights got themselves into trouble very early in the second period. They were already down 1-0 when forward Braeden Bowman took an elbowing penalty, which sent the Bruins to a five-minute power play.
A five-minute major penalty means that the power play doesn't end if the opposing team scores. And when Morgan Geekie scored just 34 seconds in, it didn't look great for the Golden Knights.
"They scored 30 seconds in," said Mark Stone. "It was a quick one. But we killed the last four and a half."
"It was big for us," said Golden Knights defenseman Noah Hanifin following the 3-2 shootout loss. "They have a good power play over there. After you give up that first one early, sometimes momentum can swing in their favor, and you can get on your heels a little bit.
"I thought we did a good job, just staying aggressive, staying with it, and not giving up too much after that," Hanifin finished. "I thought we did a good job [killing the rest of the penalty] after they scored that second one, and we started to take the game over a little more after that."
The Golden Knights ultimately failed to complete the comeback, but holding the Bruins to just one goal on that power play proved a huge difference maker because they clawed their way back and forced overtime. The Golden Knights stole a point, which was due in no small part to their penalty kill.
"I thought our leaders did a great job of leading us," said Golden Knights head coach Ryan Craig following the 3-2 shootout loss. "We get down a forward there when we lose Bones, but we stayed with it. Even going down 1-0 and giving up the power play goal, they get through that kill. There were moments of the game where we were able to tilt the ice, and I thought that did a lot for us to get us going."
The Golden Knights didn't win tonight, but they did dodge a massive bullet in the first period. Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy hit Trevor Connelly into the boards, and the young forward went down hard. Connelly was slow to get up, went down the tunnel, and didn't return for the remainder of the period.
Connelly was on the bench to start the second, and he didn't miss a shift for the remainder of the night.
"Give him a ton of credit," said Golden Knights head coach Ryan Craig. "He's a young kid in this league, and he's continuing to show why he belongs here."
Connelly had some real jump to his game after returning, and it ended up paying off in a big way. At 7:23 in the third period, he cut toward the net and banked Noah Hanifin's pass off Jeremy Swayman and in.
"Trevor took a big hit in the first period, then came back and scored a huge goal for us," said Golden Knights captain Mark Stone following the 3-2 shootout loss. "He's a resilient guy, and it was good to see him get rewarded in the third."
The Golden Knights have won just one of their last six games, and they've only scored 13 goals over that stretch. They've had scoring chances , but, much like in tonight's game, they've struggled to finish them off.
The difference between tonight's game and the five games that came before it is that the Golden Knights looked more like themselves tonight. They played a more complete defensive game and held an offensively talented team to just two goals.
"I think most of it's just making the next play. I think we had some pretty good chances to score some more goals tonight," said Mark Stone postgame. "All in all, definitely a step in the right direction for the way we've been playing. Two [points] is better than one, but you take the good with the bad."
"The effort was there, and that's the important thing in the long run," Noah Hanifin agreed following the 3-2 shootout loss. "There's gonna be some good and some bad in every game, but I thought tonight, we competed. The effort was there. We battled, and it's just about making that next play and putting the puck in the net, and that'll come for us."
Source: Sports
