Howden's OT winner keeps Vegas undefeated at home with victory against Utah

LAS VEGAS – Brett Howden scored the game-winner at 2:15 of overtime to give the Vegas Golden Knights a 4-3 victory against the Utah Hockey Club at T-Mobile Arena on Saturday.

“Everyone recognized they were out there for a while,” Howden said. “We knew we didn’t want to let them change. [Noah Hanifin] made the play to me. I just tried taking it to the net. I found a lane and put it in.”

Hanifin had a goal and two assists, while Adin Hill made 16 saves for Vegas (8-3-1), which remained undefeated at home with its eighth straight win, tying a franchise record.

“It was important for ‘Hanny’ to find his game offensively. That’s something he counts on and expects to bring to the team,” Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy said. “Individually, it meant a lot to him [to score a goal].

“[Adin] was a little bit unlucky tonight. … He made a couple of nice stops to keep it close. We’d like Adin to find his game. He’s won a Cup for us. So, we’re relying on him to be solid every night.”

Logan Cooley had a goal and an assist, and Nick Bjugstad had two assists for Utah (5-4-3). Connor Ingram made 31 saves.

“We got better over the three periods,” Utah coach Andre Tourigny said. “I liked the way we finished the game. Unfortunately, we could not close the deal. But I like our progression.”

Cooley scored with a one-timer from the left face-off dot to give Utah a 1-0 lead at 11:52 of the first period.

Ian Cole extended it to 2-0 at 12:00 of the second period when his shot from the point deflected off of Nicolas Hague.

Pavel Dorofeyev responded at 15:06 to make it 2-1, firing into the wide-open net after a cross-ice feed from Tomas Hertl.

“I was just looking for ‘Pav.’ He’s hot and can score goals, so it’s fun to watch him right now,” Hertl said.

The assist was Hertl’s 500th career point in the NHL.

“It’s a nice milestone,” Hertl said. “A lot of grind to get there. I was really happy about it, but I’m more happy that we won the game.”

Hanifin tied the game 2-2 at 19:59, collecting a rebound after Keegan Kolesar’s shot bounced off Nicolas Roy and onto Hanifin’s stick.

William Karlsson gave the Golden Knights a 3-2 lead at 5:37 of the third period with a backhand shot off the rush through Ingram’s five-hole. It all started with Hanifin skating into the neutral zone and finding Karlsson with a stretch pass.

“That’s the game I’ve been trying to get to for a while,” Hanifin said. “Just get up in the play using my feet. Using my skating ability. When I do that, I can open up things for other players. We don’t want to be defending too much. I just got to keep building off that game.”

Alex Kerfoot leveled the game at 3-3 at 13:10.

“They’re an experienced team. A real good hockey team. They know how to win,” Kerfoot said. “We played a really good game. It was good that we fought back and got a point out of it. It’s obviously frustrating to have it end in overtime like that. I’m glad we stuck with it.”

NOTES: Hill recorded his 40th career win with Vegas, breaking a tie with Robin Lehner for third in Golden Knights history. … The Golden Knights joined the St. Louis Blues and Nashville Predators as the third team to record two multi-goal comeback wins this season.