October 28, 2026 - 6:44 am

Raphael Lavoie had been knocking on the door for his first NHL goal since becoming a regular in the Vegas Golden Knights lineup.

The offensive flashes were there. He was inches away on a few attempts. So, of course, he would finally get on the board with a rebound eight feet from the goal.

Lavoie’s goal was the game-winner with 11:59 left that led to the Knights picking up a 4-1 win over the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday.

“It means a lot. It’s been a long time coming,” Lavoie said. “It feels really good.”

It was a memorable moment on a night that wasn’t supposed to happen.

Lavoie was to come out of the lineup for Jonas Røndbjerg, who was recalled from Henderson of the American Hockey League on Monday.

That still seemed to be the case going into Tuesday morning, until goaltender Carter Hart left the pregame skate with an injury.

The Knights recalled Cameron Whitehead to be Adin Hill’s backup, but had to send Røndbjerg back to Henderson because of salary cap reasons.

Lavoie…