March 10, 2026; Dallas, Texas, USA; Las Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Rasmus Anderson (4) tracks a puck in the air while Dallas Stars center Justin Hrikowian (49) chases it down during the third period at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Image The Vegas Golden Knights held a seemingly comfortable four-point lead in the Pacific Division ahead of the three-week Winter Olympics break last month. But ahead of Thursday’s game against the Pittsburgh Penguins in the opener of a key four-game homestand, Vegas now sits in third place, just five points above the Western Conference playoff line.
The Golden Knights have been eliminated for the third straight time and have fallen in regulation in all six of their last seven contests. Only 2 points were gained during 7 games.
Sluggish start – Vegas has fallen behind 3-0 four times in five games, and shaky goaltending has been part of the problem. However, the crime is not without criticism. With captain Mark Stone sidelined, the Golden Knights have scored just 13 goals in their last seven games.
Vegas lost 2-1 at Dallas on Tuesday. Jack Eichel scored with 91 seconds left in the second period, but that was it for the Golden Knights, as Jake Oettinger made 26 saves and Jamie Benn hit on a power play with 14:16 to play in the second period for the game-winner.
Defenseman Shea Theodore, who assisted on Eichel’s goal, said despite the tough conditions, no one is hitting the panic button yet.
“There’s no one on our team who quits. There’s no one in the group who quits,” Theodore said. “We’ve all been through this in our careers. We’ve got a lot of winners in the locker room as well. I’m confident we can find a way to try and build on this.”
A four-game homestand that also includes games against Chicago, red-hot Buffalo and Utah appears to be a potential way to start a turnaround. Until you realize that Vegas has only 14 regulation wins in 31 home games (14-10-7).
“We have to keep our heads down,” defender Jeremy Lauzon said. “We’ve got a lot of games coming up and moving forward from here. … Obviously it’s tough for our group right now, but we’re a veteran group here. There’s a lot of experience in that room and we’re going to turn that corner here.”
This game is the second of a five-game road trip for the Penguins scheduled for a contest in Carolina. Pittsburgh, second in the Metropolitan Division, opened its trip with a 5-4 loss to the Hurricanes on Tuesday, making it 1-10 in shootouts this season.
Still, it wasn’t a bad way to start the penguins’ long transcontinental journey. Pittsburgh pulled goalie Stuart Skinner and scored twice in the final 2:08 of regulation to tie the game at 4-4 on goals by Noel Acciari and Bryan Rust, who grabbed a rebound with 36 seconds left.
“We never give up in this room,” Rust said. “It says a lot about the people here.”
The Penguins’ top scorer, Sidney Crosby, is coming back from a lower-body injury that sidelined him for Canada against the Czech Republic at the Olympics, while forward Evgeni Malkin missed until Monday’s game in Colorado after receiving a five-game suspension for stabbing Buffalo’s Rasmus Dahlin in the chin last Thursday.
Crosby, who has 27 goals and 59 points in 56 games, participated in the team’s morning skate in Carolina and is expected to return at some point during the trip. He has been on IR since it was announced that he was expected to be out for four weeks starting February 25th.
“He’s moving in the right direction,” Penguins coach Dan Muse said. “Nothing has changed about his condition, nothing has changed about everything else. We’ll take it one day at a time, but it’s good for him to be there.”
–Field level media
