The Vegas Golden Knights' 3-2 overtime loss to the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday came down to a just a few unfortunate shots that didn't go Vegas' way.
The Golden Knights were just over a minute away from securing the first win of their six-game road trip, but a shot from Devils defenseman Dougie Hamilton deflected off Golden Knights defenseman Brayden McNabb and went in to tie the game and force the overtime.
"I think, overall, the effort wasn't bad," Golden Knights forward William Karlsson, who made Vegas' go-ahead goal, told the media after the loss. "It was there. They tie it up. Nabber tried to block the shot but changed direction. So, yeah, unfortunate, but the effort was there, I think."
Golden Knights coach Bruce Cassidy said McNabb's attempt to block the shot was natural and just a part of his game.
"Well he's a shot blocker, so he's going to try to block shots," the head coach said. "It was a kick-out play. Our forwards got a little high in the neutral zone to be honest with you. They should've been deeper. Closer to our end. But that might have forced a dump. But at the end of the day, they made a play, and then our D are expected to fall back to the front of the net. And there were bodies going to the net -- he chose to block the shot, and it's a tough one because he eats a lot of pucks for us. Obviously, in hindsight, if he had just tied up a stick, we'd probably get the save and who knows what happens from there."
Vegas will continue its slate of east coast games when it faces the New York Rangers and Islanders on Friday and Saturday, respectively.
Friday's contest will begin around 4 p.m. PST/7 p.m. EST, while Saturday's will start around 4:30 p.m. PST/7:30 p.m. EST.
Follow along with VGK Today for live updates throughout both games.
More must-reads: