Reilly Smith nets OT goal to lift Golden Knights past Blues

[March 13, 2021]    Reilly Smith scored an overtime power-play goal to lift the visiting Vegas Golden Knights past the St. Louis Blues 5-4 Friday night.

Alec Martinez, Mark Stone, Jonathan Marchessault and Tomas Nosek also scored for the Golden Knights, who won for the seventh time in their last nine games.

St. Louis Blues left wing Zach Michael Sanford (12) checks Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Dylan Coghlan (52) in front of the net during the first period at Enterprise Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

Marc-Andre Fleury made 19 saves to earn the victory after being reinstated from his brief stay in COVID-19 protocol after a false positive test.

David Perron, Zach Sanford, Vladimir Tarasenko and Ryan O'Reilly scored for the Blues, who extended their point streak to seven games (4-0-3).

Jordan Binnington made 35 saves in his first start since signing a six-year, $36 million contract extension.

The Golden Knights outshot the Blues 11-8 in the first period and scored two goals 41 seconds apart.

First Stone drove to the front of the net to redirect Chandler Stephenson's pass into the net.

Then the Golden Knights converted a simple dump-in play into a 2-0 lead. Marchessault connected with a backhand flip shot after Smith shot the puck toward the net.

O'Reilly cut the Vegas lead to 2-1 at the 5:14 mark of the second period. He blasted a one-time shot from the right circle off Justin Faulk's feed from the center point.

Nosek restored the two-goal margin by cutting through the slot to convert Dylan Coghlan's back-door pass from the right side.

But Tarasenko cut the lead to 3-2 by scoring his first goal since returning from offseason shoulder surgery. Sammy Blais took the puck to the net from the right circle, then Tarasenko tapped in the loose rebound.

The Blues scored two power-play goals to take a 4-3 lead in the third period.

On the first, Mike Hoffman fired a shot on goal from the right circle and Sanford knocked in the rebound. On the second, Brayden Schenn broke down the middle and fed Perron for a one-time shot from the left circle.

Just 47 seconds later, Martinez tied the game 4-4. He stepped in from the blue line to bury a weakside rebound.

The Blues went into overtime for their fourth consecutive game and lost for the third straight time. Torey Krug's tripping penalty gave the Golden Knights their man advantage, and Smith scored the winner from the right circle.

--Field Level Media

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