Golden Knights lose in OT to Kings, second straight defeat with Eichel

Jack Eichel got his first point for the Vegas Golden Knights in a 4-3 overtime loss to the Los Angeles Kings at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Friday.

Eichel, who was acquired in a trade from the Buffalo Sabres on Nov. 4 and had artificial disk replacement surgery on his neck Nov. 12, was playing in his second game for Vegas. He had the primary assist on Max Pacioretty's second goal to put Vegas in front 3-2 at 6:33 of the second period.
"He's been out for so long, almost a year, so it's kind of a line of guys trying to find their game after some absence," Pacioretty said. "Did a better job of it tonight, had some opportunities, but still have a ways to go."
Adrian Kempe scored two goals for the Kings (25-17-7), including the winner at 2:18 of overtime after receiving a pass from Sean Durzi on an odd-man rush. Jonathan Quick made 21 saves.
"Going back a couple years, we've always had tight games against Vegas, but I felt like the past couple years they've always been the team to get that extra point at the end," Kempe said. "Vegas is a team that we're gonna have to beat, on the road sometimes, to get the huge points. Now we got the two points tonight, and that was big for us, and we've got to keep playing this way for the rest of the season if we're gonna have a shot at the playoffs."

Reilly Smith scored, and Jonathan Marchessault had two assists for the Golden Knights (28-18-4), who have lost three straight. Laurent Brossoit allowed four goals on 31 shots.
"I didn't love our night," Vegas coach Pete DeBoer said. "We found a way to scrape a point out but wasn't our finest effort in my mind. … The more points we drop, the easier that desperation will come."
Phillip Danault tied it 3-3 at 17:17 of the second on a breakaway. He has scored an NHL career-high 14 goals in 47 games this season.
Pacioretty put Vegas ahead 1-0 at 8:11 on the power play. It was the first goal for the Golden Knights in 147:57, ending the longest drought in their history. It also ended a run of 11 games without a goal for Pacioretty.
"We need him to score," DeBoer said. "Like I said, he's a streaky scorer. He always seems to find a way to score against L.A. so we felt that there was a good chance if he was going to break out of it, it would be tonight, and he did so hopefully it gets him rolling."

Smith made it 2-0 at 15:06. William Karlsson forced a turnover in the neutral zone to spring a 2-on-1 rush for Marchessault and Smith, who finished on a one-timer from the right circle.
Andreas Athanasiou cut it to 2-1 at 15:34 when he scored his 99th NHL goal on a breakaway.
Kempe tied it 2-2 30 seconds into the second period. He scored his third power-play goal on a wrist shot from the left circle as Viktor Arvidsson was cutting in front of Brossoit to provide the timely screen.
"There's a belief within our group that we can play and come back," Kings coach Todd McLellan said. "We didn't have those qualities in the last 15 or 20 games last year, but we have them now. We've got to keep them."
Doughty had the primary assist, his 432nd in 1,005 games, passing Bernie Nicholls for sixth in Kings history.
NOTES: Kempe scored two goals for the third time this season. He has 21 goals in 46 games to extend his career high. His previous high was 19 goals in 45 games last season. … Danault has scored four goals during a three-game streak. … Danault's previous best was 13 goals in the 2016-17 and 2019-20 seasons with the Montreal Canadiens. … Doughty has scored four points (one goal, three assists) during a three-game point streak. … Los Angeles is 5-0-2 in its past seven road games. … Pacioretty has five multigoal games this season. He has four goals in his other 18 games. … Vegas has lost consecutive home games for the second time this season. They lost three straight Oct. 20-24.