The Golden Knights Lost A Game Because They Wanted Jack Eichel To Score An Empty-Netter On Sabres

The Vegas Golden Knights got caught trying to help one of their superstars pad his stats and stick it to his old team and, boy, did they pay the price for it.

The Golden Knights were on the road in Buffalo to take on the Sabres, which was a game that they absolutely should be winning in regulation and leaving with two points, no questions asked.

Having the Golden Knights in town meant that former Sabre Jack Eichel was back in Buffalo, where he was not exactly welcomed like a conquering hero.

Late in the game, it looked like that was going to be the case because with Vegas up 3-2, the Sabres pulled goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen for the extra attacker.

The Sabres eventually lost possession, and it looked like the Golden Knights were about to put a pin in this one, much to the enjoyment of their fans, and even more so to anyone who bet Vegas -1.5.

However, Tomas Hertl decided that instead of chucking the puck in the back of the net, he was going to pass it over Eichel — who scored what looked like it was going to be the game-winning goal — so he could stick a fork in the Sabres.

It's a nice thought, and you like to see players not being greedy, but in this case, greediness is exactly what the doctor ordered.

After that play, the Sabres scored with the extra to force overtime.

The extra five-minute frame didn't produce a winner so it was on to a shootout, where Luukonen sealed the deal with a save.

Oh no…

I get what Hertl was going for there, but if you've got a yawning cage like that you've got to finish things off.

Fortunately for Vegas, they've got a six-point lead over the Edmonton Oilers for first in the Pacific Division, so only coming out of Buffalo — which, as I said, should have been a game that they'd win in regulation — with just the loser point, shouldn't hurt them too badly.