Pacioretty's cross-ice pass for Alex Tuch deflected off the stick of Avalanche defenseman Devon Toews and hit the right post. Pacioretty was then able to poke the puck into the open net when Toews' blade broke as he was trying to clear it.
"Tonight was a bounce," Pacioretty said. "We don't go out in overtime to defend, we go out there to try and attack. When there's a chance to go the other way, we want to take advantage of it. It was a great battle to win that battle, and I saw the battle, trusted the guys in there and kind of took off. Great play by [Tuch] to give it to me early enough so I could keep a little bit of speed, and that momentum is what ultimately allowed me to pick up that rebound."
Toews said, "I intercepted that puck and it was sitting there. I was trying to play it with my stick and the next thing I know my blade is in the corner. I thought I had the leverage on it, I thought I had the play, and unfortunately the stick let me down a little bit there."
William Carrier and Alec Martinez scored, and Marc-Andre Fleury made 22 saves for Vegas (23-8-1), which lost 5-1 here Thursday and leads Colorado by one point for first in the Honda West Division.
"The goal was to play the way we're capable of playing, executing the way we're capable of executing, and the results take care of themselves," Golden Knights coach Peter DeBoer said. "To be honest with you, if we lost tonight in overtime, I would have been really happy with the response. That's how you beat a good team on the road. For the believers out there, thanks for sticking with us. I know there were some doubters out there after the last game, but I knew our group would respond with a good effort."