Golden Knights leave another point on table in 4-3 OT loss to Senators

LAS VEGAS — Another night, another point left on the table by the Vegas Golden Knights.After battling back from deficits of 2-0 and 3-1 to tie the game 3-3 in the third and eventually going to overtime, the Knights were unable to get that second critical point and failed to score in the shootout, giving there Ottawa Senators a 4-3 win Wednesday at T-Mobile Arena.Vegas is now 1-8 while playing extra hockey. That equates to just one additional point. And as they go into Thanksgiving Thursday, they do so in a three-way tie for second place in the Pacific Division with Los Angeles and Seattle, all with 28 points, one behind first-place Anaheim.The math isn’t hard to figure. Had Vegas just won two of the eight OT opportunities, it would be in first in the division. And while being a point out of first isn’t catastrophic, it’s not where the team thought it would be as it has lost 11 of its last 16 contests.“We’re leaving a lot of points on the table,” defenseman Noah Hanifin said. “It’s not going to be easy to make those up.”

Come April, those points could be most valuable in determining Vegas' opponent in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, assuming they make it. It could be the difference between winning the division or being a wild card team, the difference between having home ice in the first round or being forced to open a series on the road against a Colorado or a Dallas.On a night where the Knights welcomed back their captain Mark Stone to the lineup and Stone delivered a power play goal to tie it in the third, they couldn’t fully take advantage of his presence.“I thought Mark was excellent,” Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy said of Stone, who was paired with Brett Howden and Mitch Marner  rather than return Stone to Jack Eichel’s line and displace rookie Braeden Bowman, who has been superb since joining Eichel’s line. “I thought the line overall did fine.”Stone, who unfortunately has had extended time off due to injuries throughout his career, has learned how to quickly assimilate himself back into the lineup and play productive minutes right away. Wednesday, he played just under 20 minutes and acquitted himself nicely after being out since sustaining an upper-body injury Oct. 18 against Calgary.“Not bad,” he said in a self-assessment of his performance against his former team. “I’ve been skating quite a bit so I felt pretty good though my legs started to go toward the end of the game.“It’s unfortunate but I’ve had some experience with this. It’s not what I want but I think the staff we have here care so much and do a ton of research on what’s the best way to come back and you just have to trust them. They do a great job so you give credit where it’s due.”Stone’s presence on the Golden Knights’ power play was evident. With him on the ice, things moved better, more chances seemed to be created and his goal, which came off a shot he didn’t get all of but bounced off Tim Stutzle and past Linus Ullmark was a nice welcome-back gift from the hockey gods.“I don’t know if I picked up where I left off, he said. “But we were able to get some chances and I got a lucky bounce, so I’ll take it.”    The Knights are in need of a lucky bounce in OT. Wednesday, they thought they had it won when Ivan Barbashev beat Ullmark only to see his shot hit the crossbar and stay out. According to Cassidy, Vegas has just one goal on 17 shots in overtime this year.“I don’t think we’re way off,” Stone said of the team’s OT woes this year. “We just need to capitalize on our chances.”