Tomas Hertl finally broke through Sunday, scoring with 1:04 left in the Vegas Golden Knights’ 4-3 loss to the Anaheim Ducks in Game 4. The goal ended a 29-game scoring drought that stretched back to March 4.
Hertl beat Lukas Dostal late in the third period with the Golden Knights down two and skating with an extra attacker. It was the kind of late goal that can change the feel of a night, even if it did not change the result.
That mattered because Vegas needed something from its top end after Mark Stone missed Sunday following his exit from Game 3 with a lower-body injury. Hertl was back on the first power-play unit, with Mitch Marner taking Stone’s place below the goal line, while Brandon Saad stepped in for Stone and logged a team-low 7:20. At five-on-five, Hertl’s line with Saad and Keegan Kolesar was outshot 4-1 over 4:10.
The drought had become a story of its own. Hertl had gone 29 games, including the playoffs, without scoring before finally finding a way through against Dostal. For a player who was expected to give Vegas offense in the middle of the lineup, the stretch left the Golden Knights looking for answers as the series tightened.
Now they have one goal back from Hertl and little else to separate them from Anaheim. The series is tied 2-2, turning Game 5 on Tuesday at T-Mobile Arena into a best-of-three with the Golden Knights holding home-ice advantage. That gives Vegas a clean path back into control, but only if it can turn a late personal breakthrough into a full-team response.
Brayden McNabb said the score Sunday did not matter in the bigger picture, calling it a best-of-three with home ice and saying the team has to get its rest and be ready for the next one. John Tortorella was even more direct about what a goal can do for a finisher, saying it does not matter whether it comes on an empty-net play or a 6-on-5 chance if it goes in, because the puck crossing the line can hopefully release him a little bit.
That is the tension for Vegas now. Hertl’s goal ended the drought, but the Golden Knights still left Game 4 without the win they needed. Tuesday will show whether the late breakthrough was the start of a reset or just a bright moment in a series that is now squarely back in doubt.
