(Candice Ward-Imagn Images) W.G. Ramirez Fri, October 9, 2026 at 5:54 AM UTC · 3 min read About Our Ads Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement LAS VEGAS -- A three-goal deficit gave way to a rookie's shootout winner and a veteran goaltender's recovery Thursday night.
Trevor Connelly scored in the fifth round of the shootout, and Adin Hill stopped John Tavares to complete the Vegas Golden Knights ' 4-3 comeback victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs at T-Mobile Arena.
Vegas improved to 4-1-0 with its third consecutive win.
"I think as a group, we just came together and kind of took over the game by our style of hockey," Connelly said.
Toronto built a 3-0 lead in the opening 8:37 before Mark Stone scored late in the first period. Brett Howden converted Mitch Marner 's gem early in the second, and Jack Eichel tied it on a penalty shot at 3:58.
Eichel added an assist, extending his point-and-assist streak to five games and bringing his season total to 12 points.
Hill made 21 saves and denied four of five shootout attempts. Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 40 shots for Toronto.
Braeden Bowman also scored for Vegas in the shootout, while Kirill Marchenko provided Toronto's lone conversion.
With the shootout tied after four rounds, Connelly delivered the breakthrough, beating Bobrovsky with a backhand-forehand move in the fifth round. The rookie leaned on a finish he had rehearsed rather than changing his approach under pressure.
"That's a move that I've kind of been doing in practice a bit, and it's seemed to work a lot," Connelly said. "So kind of just trusted what's been working in practice."
Hill then stopped Tavares to secure Vegas' third straight victory and complete the comeback.
Vegas outshot Toronto 36-15 after the first period, including a 21-8 advantage in the second as the Knights erased the remaining two-goal deficit. They maintained that pressure with an 11-4 edge in the third and finished ahead 43-24 overall, forcing Bobrovsky to make 40 saves.
The comeback also came without a power-play goal: Vegas went 0-for-4 after converting in each of its first four games. Howden's even-strength goal and Eichel's penalty-shot finish supplied the second-period scoring that brought Vegas level.
After surrendering three goals in the opening 8:37, Hill held Toronto scoreless for the rest of regulation and overtime. His shootout stops included a glove save on William Nylander and a game-ending stop on Tavares. Marner praised Hill's composure after the early goals and emphasized his teammates' confidence in him.
"I feel like Hilly's so calm and confident himself, regardless of what happens before, so you see that tonight," Marner said. "Just stayed with it. We have a lot of trust in either of those boys in net. So, when we needed him massively, he made some big saves."
Vegas hosts the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday at 7 p.m. PT.
Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Adin Hill (33) stops a shot from Toronto Maple Leafs center John Tavares (91) during a shootout at T-Mobile Arena.
Source: Sport
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