Jackson Hallum’s late third-period double carries Vegas past Los Angeles after Kings rally

Two goals in 44 seconds changed the tone

For 18 minutes and 40 seconds, the scoreboard held steady. Then Vegas compressed the first period into a damaging little burst. Viliam Kmec broke the deadlock at 18:40, with Matyas Sapovaliv and Marc Gatcomb collecting the assists, and what had been a level game suddenly tilted toward the Golden Knights.

Los Angeles barely had time to absorb the first goal before a second one followed. Raphael Lavoie scored at 19:24, assisted by Tanner Laczynski and Braeden Bowman, turning a manageable late concession into a 2-0 Vegas lead before the intermission. That sequence matters because it framed the rest of the game: the Kings were not being chased by an overwhelming shot count or a runaway scoreboard, but by a brief lapse that produced a two-goal hole.

The Kings did the hard part, just not the last part

To their credit, Los Angeles answered quickly in the second period. Andre Lee scored at 1:27, with Kenny Connors and Scott Perunovich on the play, and the game moved back into reach almost immediately. From there, the Kings kept themselves close enough that one clean finish could reset everything.

That equalizer finally arrived in the third. Lane Pederson scored at 12:06, assisted by Cole Guttman and Jared Wright, to make it 2-2. At that point the Kings had erased the entire deficit, and the numbers suggest they had given themselves enough of a platform to think bigger: Los Angeles finished with 19 shots to Vegas’ 16. But the tie did not turn into a lead. Adin Hill’s 17 saves were enough to keep Vegas from falling behind, and that turned out to be the hinge of the night.

Hallum owned the closing minutes

The level score lasted only 2:23. Hallum put Vegas back in front at 14:29 of the third, with Kmec adding the assist, and the Golden Knights once again made a tight game feel suddenly narrow for Los Angeles. Kmec’s name was all over the decisive moments — the opening goal in the first period, then the helper on the go-ahead goal in the third — and Vegas got real value from that contribution.

Hallum was not finished. He struck again at 18:37, this time from Jakub Demek, to give the Golden Knights their fourth goal and the breathing room they had lacked for much of the evening. That late pair is the cleanest explanation for the result. Los Angeles had spent nearly two full periods working back to even, and Vegas answered with two finishing blows in the final stretch.

Our take: efficient Vegas, unfinished Los Angeles

Our take on Vegas: this was a smart result to bank, but not a flawless one. The Golden Knights won because they were sharper in the moments that decided the score, not because they overwhelmed Los Angeles territorially. Four goals on 16 shots tells the story of a team that made its chances count, and Hallum’s two late goals gave that efficiency a clear face. At the same time, Vegas went 0-for-4 on the power play and generated fewer shots than the Kings. If there is an area to clean up even after a win, it is turning those extra-man opportunities into something more substantial and finding a little more volume at five-on-five.

Our take on Los Angeles: there was enough here to justify frustration rather than resignation. The Kings recovered from 2-0 down, got goals from Lee and Pederson, and finished with more shots than Vegas. That is a useful base. But two issues kept following them. First, they could not translate their two power-play chances into a goal, leaving the special-teams column blank. Second, they handed Vegas four power-play opportunities while taking five penalties for 20 minutes overall. Even though the Golden Knights did not score on those advantages, that is still extra defending and extra time spent trying to survive rather than press the game. Add in the fact that Los Angeles allowed two more goals after tying it 2-2, and the night reads less like a collapse than a reminder of how thin the margin can be when a rally is not backed by a cleaner finish.

In the end, the defining image is simple enough: the Kings pulled the game level, and Hallum took it away. In a 4-2 Vegas victory, that final swing was the difference between a comeback completed and a comeback interrupted.

Scoring moments

1. 1st · 18:40

   Viliam Kmec Goal (1) , assists: Matyas Sapovaliv (1), Marc Gatcomb (1)

2. 1st · 19:24

   Raphael Lavoie Goal (1) , assists: Tanner Laczynski (1), Braeden Bowman (1)

3. 2nd · 1:27

   Andre Lee Goal (1) , assists: Kenny Connors (1), Scott Perunovich (1)

4. 3rd · 12:06

   Lane Pederson Goal (1) , assists: Cole Guttman (1), Jared Wright (1)

5. 3rd · 14:29

   Jackson Hallum Goal (1) , assists: Viliam Kmec (1)

6. 3rd · 18:37

   Jackson Hallum Goal (2) , assists: Jakub Demek (1)