3 takeaways: Knights rally for win, but lose goaltender to injury — PHOTOS

Reilly Smith scored twice as the Vegas Golden Knights rallied for a 5-3 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday night at T-Mobile Arena.

It was the second consecutive game in which the Knights (19-11-12) came back for a win after falling behind 2-0.

Mark Stone had two assists and a power-play goal, while Jack Eichel had a goal and an assist, and Mitch Marner and Tomas Hertl each had two assists.

“Our second and third (periods) have been really good the last two games,” Marner said. “We just have to try to bring that to the first. We don’t want to be the team that’s always down, but we know we can fight through adversity when we are.”

The Blue Jackets (18-18-7) got early goals from Boone Jenner and Kent Johnson before the Knights answered with four straight goals.

Kirill Marchenko got the Blue Jackets within a goal at 4-3 with 5:32 remaining, but Brett Howden capped a 2-on-1 with Keegan Kolesar by finding the back of the net for an insurance goal 1:46 later.

Knights’ goaltender Carter Hart left the game in the first period after he appeared to injure his left leg during a scramble in front of the net. Akira Schmid made 19 saves in relief after allowing a goal on the second shot he faced.

Here are three takeaways from the win:

1. Broken Hart

The first goal of the game was a double-whammy for the Knights as they not only fell behind, but lost their starting goaltender in the process.

Hart appeared to injure his left knee in a wild scramble in front of the net in the first period as he turned around in traffic and then went down to the ice.

He tried to maneuver in the crease on his knees without a stick through obvious pain as the home fans and several players on the ice appeared to be looking for a stoppage in play.

The Knights couldn’t secure the puck, however, and the action continued for nearly 30 seconds until a puck found its way through and trickled through Hart and into the net.

He went to all fours on the ice until the athletic trainers arrived and he was helped from the ice and back to the locker room.

Knights coach Bruce Cassidy didn’t have an immediate update but said Hart would get a full evaluation Friday morning.

“We’ll know pretty quickly after that,” Cassidy said. “The way he came off didn’t look good, but we’ll see.”

The rulebook says the game can be stopped before the impacted team gains control of the puck if it is “obvious that a player has sustained a serious injury.” It’s not clear why the play did not fall under that definition.

“It’s really hard to see (Hart) go down,” Eichel said. “I know how hard he’s worked and what he’s put in to come back here and play with us.”

2. Heating up

Smith has scored in consecutive games for the first time since returning to the Knights in a trade last March and the first time overall since Dec. 6 and 8, 2024 when he was with the Rangers.

Thursday was also his first multigoal game since Game 3 of the second-round playoff series against Edmonton.

He’s not the only Knights veteran getting hot.

Stone extended his career-best run of games with a goal to six straight with a power-play goal that came just 16 seconds into the man-advantage late in the second period.

Smith’s second goal was not on the power play, but it may as well have been as the Knights had an extra attacker on the ice with a delayed penalty pending.

3. Getting close

The Knights had familiar faces and potential reinforcements for the second half of the season on the ice for the morning skate before Thursday’s game.

Defenseman Shea Theodore was skating in a red noncontact jersey, and Adin Hill was rotating with the goaltenders.

Theodore has been sidelined with an upper-body injury. Hill hasn’t played since suffering a lower-body injury Oct. 20.

Neither played Thursday, but their presence is a good sign for a shorthanded team that has limped to the halfway point in the season, barely maintaining its hold on first place in the Pacific Division.

“I can’t tell you what their (return) date is,” Cassidy said. “But they’re getting closer.”

Hill’s potential return is even more magnified by the injury to Hart, who has played a great deal in Hill’s absence.

Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on X.