National Hockey League
Vegas 3, Winnipeg 2
When: 8:00 PM ET, Thursday, December 12, 2024
Where: Canada Life Centre, Winnipeg, Manitoba
Referees: Justin Kea, Kelly Sutherland
Linesmen: Jonathan Deschamps, James Tobias
Attendance: 13320

Ivan Barbashev scored at 3:47 of overtime as the Vegas Golden Knights continued their dominance of the host Winnipeg Jets with a 3-2 victory on Thursday night.

Barbashev took a crossing pass from Shea Theodore on a two-on-one break and snapped a wrist shot from the left circle inside the near post and past goalie Connor Hellebuyck's blocker for the game-winner and his team-leading 14th goal.

Victor Olofsson and Keegan Kolesar also scored goals and Theodore added two assists for Vegas, which won its eighth straight regular-season meeting against the Jets.

Adin Hill made 18 saves for the Golden Knights to improve to 6-0-0 all-time against the Jets in his career and 11-0-2 against Western Conference teams this season. The win was also the fourth in a row for Vegas, tying a season-high.

Josh Morrissey and Nikita Chibrikov scored for Winnipeg, while Hellebuyck finished with 33 saves.

Winnipeg, despite being outshot 12-4 in the first period, took a 1-0 lead at the 9:27 mark when Chibrikov buried a rebound of a Vladislav Namestnikov shot into an open left side of the net. It was Chibrikov's second goal of the season and his third in three career NHL games.

Vegas, showing no signs of rust following a rare five-day midseason break, held Winnipeg without a shot on goal over the first 13:01 of the second period and finished with a 22-10 shot advantage after two periods. But the Knights couldn't get a puck past Hellebuyck, who was aided by numerous blocked shots.

On the night, the Jets blocked 25 shots while the Golden Knights blocked 12.

The Golden Knights tied it 1-1 at 4:34 of the third period. Kolesar scooped up a loose puck along the right boards and fired a wrist shot from the top of the circle past a Nicolas Roy screen and Hellebuyck's glove side.

Morrissey put Winnipeg back in front at 10:55 when he blasted a slap shot from the top of the left circle into the top corner on the short side.

The Jets then were called for tripping penalties by Gabe Vilardi and Dylan DeMelo just 13 seconds apart to give Vegas a five-on-three power play with 2:27 remaining. Olofsson tied it 38 seconds later with a one-timer from the bottom of the right circle off Mark Stone's crossing pass.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Vegas   Winnipeg
Shea Theodore 2 Points Nikita Chibrikov 1
Ivan Barbashev 1 Goals Nikita Chibrikov 1
Shea Theodore 2 Assists Dylan Demelo 1
Victor Olofsson 1 Power Play Goals N/A
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Adin Hill .900 Save Percentage Connor Hellebuyck .917
Adin Hill 18 Saves Connor Hellebuyck 33
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Vegas 36 3 1-4 1-1 2 27
Winnipeg 20 2 0-1 3-4 8 23
Upcoming Games
  • Winnipeg will play their next game at home against Montreal. The Jets have a W/L % of .727 after a win and .556 after a loss.
  • Vegas will play their next game on the road against Edmonton. The Golden Knights have a W/L % of .667 after a win and .636 after a loss.