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It's going to be a long flight home for the Golden Knights.
Vegas had a one-goal lead in the third period Sunday against the Detroit Red Wings, who entered in last place in the NHL. But the Red Wings tied the game at the 10:57 mark of the period, then scored the game-winning goal with 30.9 seconds remaining to hand visiting Vegas a 3-2 defeat at Little Caesars Arena.
Madison Bowey's goal tied the game for Detroit and Anthony Mantha scored on a breakaway in the dying seconds to ice it.
It Vegas' third straight loss as it finished the road trip 1-2-1.
"We let in a goal and then sat back on our heels. That's the story too many times these last couple of games," forward Max Pacioretty said to AT&T SportsNet. "Unfortunately, that's what's been going wrong lately."
Jonathan Marchessault scored the first goal for Vegas, and Pacioretty scored in his third game in a row.
Malcolm Subban made 16 saves on 19 shots in the Golden Knights' net.
Here are three takeaways from the loss.
This one will sting
It's hard to argue that this wasn't the toughest loss for the Golden Knights on the season. They previously blew multiple-goal third-period leads at home to the Canadiens and Jets, but at least picked up a point by losing in overtime. Those teams, too, are at least fighting for a playoff spots.
Detroit had lost four of its last five games by at least four goals. It sat at the bottom of the league standings for a reason, and instead the Red Wings rallied to win in regulation. They did so when Mantha broke free following a poor pinch from Brayden McNabb in the neutral zone.
"We played 55 great minutes of hockey and blew it in the last five," coach Gerard Gallant said to AT&T SportsNet. "Disappointing, real disappointing, but what do you do?"
The loss gave the Golden Knights 10 defeats this season compared to just nine wins. By points percentage, the Golden Knights are in 21st place in the NHL.
"We had the lead and we stopped working and they took advantage of us," Marchessault told AT&T SportsNet. "It's starting to get old."
Lazy Sunday
Some games are high-flying affairs, with scoring chances left and right where you understand why people love the nonstop action of hockey. This game was not that.
Both teams had 19 shots on goal, which is the fewest combined shots in a game in Golden Knights history. The previous low was 42 on Dec. 12, 2018, against the Islanders, when Vegas had 17 shots and New York had 25.
The second period was the worst offender. The Golden Knights held Detroit to two shots on goal (a season-low for the opposition) but managed only three shots on goal themselves (also a season-low).
Second night troubles
Maybe playing last night in Washington was a factor in the sluggish play.
Sunday was the third time this season the Golden Knights had a game after playing in a different city the day before, as well as the team's third game in four nights. They are 2-1 in those games, with one of those wins coming in a shootout.
Only one of their wins has been commanding — a 5-2 in Los Angeles on Oct. 13 after beating Calgary in Las Vegas the night before — but style points don't matter much when you enter the game at a disadvantage. Vegas needed a last-minute goal to tie Chicago and win in a shootout on Oct. 22.
And Sunday's wasn't super pretty, even before the late meltdown. The Red Wings led in expected goals in the first period, and the Golden Knights didn't get their first shot of the second period until almost halfway through it (Pacioretty's goal).The Red Wings finished with a slight edge in expected goals, according to Moneypuck.com (1.88-1.42).
Justin Emerson can be reached at 702-259-8814 or [email protected]. Follow Justin on Twitter at twitter.com/@j15emerson.
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