Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Golden Knights Beat Penguins 3-2 on Hertl Goal in Final Minute

The Vegas Golden Knights beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 3 to 2 at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh on Tuesday night, on a power play goal from Tomas Hertl in the final minute of the third period.

Hertl scored his second goal of the game with 35 seconds left, NHL.com reported, taking a pass from Mark Stone and scoring with a quick wrist shot in the crease while Tommy Novak sat in the penalty box for tripping Stone. The goal was Hertl's seventh of the season and his fifth on the power play, a team high, Reuters reported through Field Level Media.

A third period that flipped twice

Hertl put Vegas ahead 1 to 0 at 16:36 of the first period, scoring on a power play with a backhand on the rebound of a Mitch Marner shot from the slot. Marner picked up an assist on the play and extended his point streak to 11 games, with one goal and 15 assists in that run, NHL.com reported.

There was no scoring in the second period, and Pittsburgh tied the game on the first shot of the third. Novak made it 1 to 1 at 1:09, spinning at the top of the crease to tap in a loose puck after a point shot from Kaedan Korczak deflected off the stick of Jack Eichel.

Rickard Rakell gave Pittsburgh a 2 to 1 lead at 9:58 with a wrist shot at the left post, after Novak drove around Marner and passed through the crease. Trevor Connelly tied it again at 11:19, scoring on a breakaway with a backhand to forehand move around the right pad of Arturs Silovs. Connelly had also scored the tying goal at 7:23 of the third period in Boston on Monday night.

The power play made the difference

Pittsburgh had its chance late. Vegas defenseman Brayden McNabb was called for high sticking Sidney Crosby at 16:35, and the Penguins played with a 5 on 3 advantage for 1 minute and 22 seconds without recording a shot on goal. In all, Pittsburgh went 0 for 6 on the power play with four shots, while Vegas went 2 for 4 with nine shots, NHL.com reported.

Adin Hill made 23 saves for Vegas, and Silovs made 20 saves for Pittsburgh. Eichel and Korczak each had two assists.

Vegas improved to 10 wins, 5 losses and 2 overtime losses. The Golden Knights had gone 1 win, 3 losses and 2 overtime losses in their previous six games, a run that included a 3 to 2 shootout loss at Boston on Monday. It was only the second win for Vegas in nine games at Pittsburgh, Reuters reported. The other came on October 19, 2019.

Pittsburgh fell to 5 wins, 8 losses and 2 overtime losses and has lost three games in a row. Forward Evgeni Malkin did not play because of a lower body injury and is day to day, NHL.com reported. Justin Brazeau played his first game of the season after missing the first 14 games with a preseason lower body injury.

'We have to get the job done,' Pittsburgh coach Dan Muse said. 'Whether it is 5 on 6, whether it is 5 on 5, those are big moments defensively. We have to find a way.'

Vegas coach Ryan Craig said the two nights on the road had helped his group. 'We hoped the last two nights would galvanize our group,' Craig said. 'Tonight was a grind, but they stayed together.'

Vegas continues its road trip at Detroit on Thursday. Pittsburgh next plays Boston on Thursday.