Cassidy: Golden Knights performance against Sabres was 'a total lack of respect' 

Vegas Golden Knights left wing Pavel Dorofeyev (16) is pressured by Buffalo Sabres center Tage Thompson (72) and left wing Zach Benson (9) during the second period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, March 15, 2025, in Buffalo, N.Y. Photo by Jeffrey T. Barnes / AP

Vegas Golden Knights head coach Bruce Cassidy didn't mince words when asked about his team's 3-2 shootout loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday. 

"It was a total lack of respect," Cassidy said. "The way the game ended really sums that up." 

In the final two and a half minutes of the game, Jack Eichel, who was selected by the Sabres second overall in 2015 and has a complicated relationship with the team, scored to give Vegas a 3-2 lead. 

He exuberantly celebrated toward Sabre fans, who had been heckling him all game. It's been the same song and dance between Eichel and Buffalo's fans since he was traded to Vegas in 2021. 

Buffalo pulled goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen with about a minute left in the game for an extra attacker. At the red line, Tomáš Hertl made a shoulder-check move on Peyton Krebs, giving him a wide-open lane to shoot the puck into the empty net. 

Instead of shooting the puck, Hertl attempted to make a drop pass to Eichel, who couldn't receive it because he was under heavy pressure. 

Passing, literally, on what looked like a freebie cost the Golden Knights as Sabres captain Rasmus Dahlin scored with 14 seconds left to tie the game. 

"I'd like to see him (Hertl) shoot the puck in the net and end the game," Cassidy said. "That's what I'd like to see. I think the whole team would like to see that." 

The missed opportunity sent Vegas to overtime and eventually a shootout, where they've struggled all season. Saturday's shootout loss was the fifth time the Golden Knights have lost beyond regulation this season. 

Their last overtime or shootout win was on Dec. 12 against the Winnipeg Jets. Vegas has only won three times this season past regulation. 

"I don't think we played on our best level tonight," Ivan Barbashev said. "We were leading the whole game, and it unfortunately resulted in a loss."

The Golden Knights were outshot 37-19 but had the lead for nearly the entire game. 

Brett Howden got things going in the first period, scoring off a tic-tac-toe play to give Vegas a 1-0 lead. In the second period, Pavel Dorofeyev scored his 27th of the year off a Hertl rebound for a 2-0 lead. 

Eichel's late goal broke a 2-2 tie before Buffalo quickly responded. Victor Olofsson, who played his first game in Buffalo since he signed as a free agent with the Golden Knights in July, scored Vegas' lone shootout goal. 

"We were kind of sloppy at times," Olofsson said. "We played a simple game earlier, and that kind of worked for us, but then we got away from it." 

Cassidy also said that penalties hampered the team, not just on Saturday but throughout this road trip. Outside of two fighting penalties, Adin Hill was called for delay of game and Dorofeyev for tripping. 

While Dorofeyev has three goals in three games, this is the second straight game he's taken a "stick foul" penalty. He was assessed a double-minor for high-sticking against the Blue Jackets on Thursday. 

"An offensive zone penalty, again, two games in a row, on the same player," Cassidy said. "Stick fouls like those are going to happen periodically, but they're going to cost you." 

As for the missed play by Hertl, his teammates believe that he needs to move on from it. The Golden Knights have a quick turnaround, traveling to Detroit to face the Red Wings on Sunday at 10 a.m. 

"He (Hertl) probably wants it back, but our game overall was not good enough," Olofsson said. "Just don't worry about it. What happened, happened, and he's got to put that behind himself."