The Vegas Golden Knights entered the night looking to stop the bleeding after a difficult stretch, and they did just that—overcoming adversity and injuries to defeat the Columbus Blue Jackets 5–3 for their second straight win.
Vegas snapped a five-game skid earlier this week with a 4–3 shootout victory over Winnipeg, and despite still owning a 2-5-3 record over their last 10 games, the Knights are starting to show signs of life. Columbus came in playing slightly better hockey at 5-4-1 in their last 10, but Vegas followed up its 3–2 win in Columbus earlier this season with another strong showing, even as they continue to search for consistency at T-Mobile Arena (4-3-3 in their last 10 home games).
The night took a concerning turn early when Boone Jenner opened the scoring for Columbus, but the bigger storyline came moments later. Golden Knights goaltender Carter Hart appeared to suffer a lower-body injury just before the goal and needed assistance getting off the ice and into the locker room. Unable to put weight on his lower body, Hart’s exit forced Akira Schmid into action unexpectedly.
Columbus capitalized quickly, as Kent Johnson (4) beat Schmid glove side just two minutes later to give the Blue Jackets a 2–0 lead. From there, Vegas flipped the switch.
Reilly Smith (7) sparked the comeback, tipping home a Noah Hanifin point blast to get the Knights on the board. Smith wasn’t done. With his stick staying red-hot, he later tied the game at two with a perfectly placed snipe past Jet Greaves—his second of the night and fifth goal in his last nine games.
Vegas continued to roll in the second period. Jack Eichel buried the Knights’ third unanswered goal, sniping one glove side to give Vegas its first lead of the night at 3–2.
And when talking about hot sticks, no one has been hotter lately than Mark Stone. The captain extended his goal streak to five consecutive games, the longest of his career, by cashing in on the power play down low for his 14th goal of the season.
Columbus made one last push in the third, as Kirill Marchenko broke free for a one-on-one chance against Schmid to pull the Blue Jackets back within one. But the Knights shut the door shortly after.
Less than two minutes later, Keegan Kolesar and Brett Howden raced down the ice on a two-on-one, and Kolesar found Howden (9), who finished the play with a top-shelf snipe to seal the game and restore a two-goal cushion.
Despite another night impacted by injuries, Vegas showed resilience, depth, and timely scoring to earn a 5–3 victory and their second straight win.
After the game, head coach Bruce Cassidy provided an update on Carter Hart’s injury and praised Akira Schmid for stepping into a tough situation and stabilizing the game when the Knights needed it most.
With some momentum building, the Golden knights look to turn these last couple wins into a turning point halfway through the season. The Golden Knights will be back at T-Mobile Arena this Saturday to take on the St.Louis Blues and then make a quick turn around and will play the San Jose Sharks the following day.
Make sure to stay tuned on Vegas Sports Today for all VGK coverage.
