Vegas Golden Knights left wing Pavel Dorofeyev scores on Ottawa Senators goaltender Linus Ullmark during the third period in Ottawa. The Golden Knights won 3-2 on Nov. 21, 2024.Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press
Bruce Cassidy earned his 400th career victory in his hometown as the Vegas Golden Knights defeated the Ottawa Senators 3-2 on Thursday night.
The Knights (12-6-2) capitalized on a couple Ottawa breakdowns and benefited from an impressive 37-save performance from Ilya Samsonov.
Samsonov had given up 10 goals in his previous two outings, but made key saves on Josh Norris, David Perron, Tim Stutzle and Brady Tkachuk to keep the Senators at bay.
The Senators (8-10-1) are now mired in a four-game losing streak and have only managed two goals in their last three games.
Vegas took the lead early in the first period when Linus Ullmark made a diving save and was unable to get back into position, giving Jack Eichel a wide-open net for his sixth of the season.
Brett Howden made it 2-0 midway through the second with a goal that beat Ullmark, who made 30 saves, under the arm.
Adam Gaudette finally beat Samsonov early in the third with two seconds remaining on the power play to cut the lead in half, but exactly two minutes later Pavel Dorofeyev regained the two-goal lead.
Drake Batherson kept the Senators within reach, scoring on a Jake Sanderson rebound with just over seven minutes remaining. They were unable to complete the comeback despite outshooting Vegas 18-5 in the third.
Takeaways
Senators: Giving up the first goal has proven costly for the Senators, who have lost eight straight and are 1-9-1 overall when allowing the first goal.
Golden Knights: A bad line change by the Senators allowed Vegas to get a free pass up the ice that led to Howden’s goal and a 2-0 lead.
Key moment
Trailing 3-2 in the third period, the Senators were unable to capitalize on their power play opportunity late in the period.
Key stat
Vegas has a 12-1-1 record against Ottawa since entering the league in 2017.
Up next
Senators: Host the Vancouver Canucks Saturday night.
Golden Knights: Will face the Montreal Canadiens Saturday afternoon.