Puck luck wasn’t on the Golden Knights’ side despite dominating the third period.

It took the final seconds to earn a point, but overtime ended as quickly as it started.

Defenseman Noah Hanifin tied the game with six seconds remaining, but Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Erik Karlsson scored the winner on the first shift of overtime for a 3-2 win Tuesday at PPG Paints Arena.

“I thought we did a good job sticking with it,” Hanifin said. “Obviously, we needed until the very last few seconds to get one. It’s tough not getting the two points, but it’s good to come up with one that late in the game.”

The Knights trailed 2-1 entering the third thanks to two goals from Pittsburgh captain Sidney Crosby. Right wing Pavel Dorofeyev scored a power-play goal at 14:29 of the second to cut the lead in half.

Much like they did in Friday’s 4-0 win over Pittsburgh, the Knights dominated the third, outshooting Pittsburgh 20-4.

The Knights (38-19-7) got off to a better start as well, compared to falling behind 2-0 on Sunday to the Los Angeles Kings. They outshot the Penguins 9-4, but fell behind 1-0 thanks to a power-play goal from Crosby at 17:48.

“We read the play wrong, and we left a dangerous player open in front,” coach Bruce Cassidy said. “After that, I thought we got to our game and we were the better team the rest of the way.”

Crosby scored his second goal at 3:02 of the second.

Bounces didn’t go the Knights’ way in the third.

Center Tomas Hertl’s wrap-around attempt was shot right into Pittsburgh goaltender Tristan Jarry’s left pad. Center Jack Eichel had a breakaway squeak through Jarry’s pads, but the puck sat at the left post.

Hanifin’s blast from the point with goaltender Ilya Samsonov pulled for the extra attacker gave the Knights a chance to win.

The Knights didn’t get a chance for the second point. Pittsburgh (26-31-10) held possession all 49 seconds before Karlsson’s shot from the top of the circle hit the short-side corner.

“There were chances for us there in the third period,” Hanifin said. “We had a lot of shots on goal, but I think we missed on some of those grade-A chances, rebounds in front of the net, screen-type goals. Fortunately, at the end, that one came, but that’s what was missing.”

Samsonov, who had a 22-save shutout against Pittsburgh on Friday, allowed three goals on 17 shots.

Jarry, who was recalled from the AHL on March 3, made 35 saves.

“Their goaltender outplayed ours in the end,” Cassidy said.

The Knights have lost two in a row after winning four straight.

“Take the point, because when you get it with your goalie out that late, you probably deserve a better fate in the end,” Cassidy said. “But we’ll take it, we’ll move on and get ready for Columbus (on Thursday).”

Here are three takeaways from the loss:

1. Down two forwards

The Knights were without the services of left wing Ivan Barbashev and center Brett Howden on Tuesday due to personal reasons.

No reason was disclosed for Barbashev, but Howden’s wife, Meike, gave birth to their second child over the weekend.

Right wing Jonas Rondbjerg was recalled from the Silver Knights, but played just 6:02 with Cassidy shortening the bench trying to tie the game.

2. Eichel ties Karlsson

Only two Knights players have ever scored 78 points in a season. Eichel became the second on Tuesday.

Eichel tied center William Karlsson’s single-season record with a secondary assist on Dorofeyev’s goal.

Karlsson set the mark in the inaugural season that included a franchise-record 43 goals that year.

Eichel recorded his 58th assist of the season, continuing his Knights record and career-high. He’s closing in on the first 80-point campaign in team history and is four points from securing his second point-per-game season of his career (2018-19).

3. Extra attacker success

The Knights would prefer to not need an extra skater late in the game to give them a chance, but they’ve found success at six-on-five the past two games.

Hertl’s goal that completed his hat trick Sunday pulled the Knights within 6-5 with just over two minutes remaining. That came by way of creating traffic in front.

Cassidy said both goals have come with good spacing and not forcing plays.

“It’s similar to our power play. We just put an extra guy in the bumper at the net-front,” Cassidy said. “I think we’re recovering pucks. That’s one of the differences, too. We’re getting pucks back.”

Contact Danny Webster at [email protected]. Follow @DannyWebster21 on X.