Jack Eichel, Golden Knights beat Maple Leafs in overtime behind must-see penalty shot
When you lose Victor Olofsson to a bad cross-check, what are you supposed to do? Do you sulk and pout/ Or do you lock in and take your frustrations out on the next opponent? For one period, it looked like the Vegas Golden Knights did the former, as they were down 3-0 to the Toronto Maple Leafs. Then, three straight goals happened and the game was tied.
This one went to overtime, then it went to a shootout. Braeden Bowman and Trevor Connelly scored nifty shootout goals for Vegas. Kirill Marchenko scored a shootout goal for the Maple Leafs. The result? Vegas wins.
Nick Paul, Easton Cowan, and Jack Roslovic all scored for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Mark Stone and Brett Howden added goals for the Golden Knights. While those goals were nice, one particular goal stood out for Vegas.
Of course, I'm talking about the equalizer by an Olympic gold medalist. Let's set everything up so you can get a glimpse of the moment. By the way, he has 12 goals in five games-that Jack Eichel guy.
Jack Eichel scored on a penalty shot for the Vegas Golden Knights!
Allow me to set the scene for you. Jack Eichel gets pushed into the net and collides with Sergei Bobrovsky. The referee awards the Olympic gold medalist a penalty shot to tie the game. Eichel fires an easy wrister and—BOOM—tie game.
Eichel notched the seventh penalty shot goal in Golden Knights history, following names like David Perron (October 31, 2017, against the New York Rangers), Jonathan Marchesault (October 28, 2018, against the Ottawa Senators, December 31, 2019, against the Anaheim Ducks, and August 8, 2020, against the Colorado Avalanche), Mark Stone (November 19, 2022, against the Edmonton Oilers), and Reilly Smith (February 9, 2023, against the Minnesota Wild).
If there was ever a moment where Eichel needed to show his worth, it was this exact shot. He did exactly that through an effortless wrister that froze Bobrovsky, swinging the momentum in Vegas's favor. You can call that an "Olympic-sized shot."
Sergei Bobrovsky makes a breathtaking save on Trevor Connelly
After Eichel's penalty shot goal, the Golden Knights were charging full steam ahead. Trevor Connelly has the perfect setup on Bobrobsky's glove side. He fires the puck and... Bobrovsky comes up with it.
That stopped the Golden Knights' momentum, although Vegas outshot Toronto through two periods, 28-17. The Maple Leafs netminder stopped 40 of 43 shots, keeping his team upright throughout the night.
As for Connelly? He shouldn't get too down on the shot. It was simply a terrific save by the netminder and the Golden Knights rookie had a great look. Just keep on truckin', young gun. That's all you can do. He did score in the shootout to get his revenge, after all.
The Golden Knights will face the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday at T-Mobile Arena. Meanwhile, Toronto is sticking around in Vegas for a practice before heading to Colorado on Saturday.
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