Beniers cut it to 3-2 at 15:11 when he found the puck in the crease and knocked it in after it snuck through the pads of Vejmelka.
Stephenson made it 3-3 at 17:43, slotting the puck between the legs of Vejmelka on a breakaway.
“After the second, we were right where we wanted to be,” Seattle forward Berkly Catton said. “That’s where we’re a good team in those types of games but we just couldn’t get it done tonight.”
Following Schmidt’s go-ahead goal, Crouse made it 5-3 at 15:12 of the third period, beating Grubauer glove side with a shot from his knees in the slot.
“We talked about coming into the third and come back to our game, and we did that,” Crouse said. “There were parts throughout the game that we didn’t love, but came away with a big two points.”
Hayton added an empty-net goal at 19:09 for the 6-3 final.
“I think as the year’s gone on, we’ve gotten into situations where we’re not panicking,” Schmidt said. “We’re a little more poised with pucks late in games. It’s something you have to have. As you grow as a team, that’s got to be something that grows with you. That was a really big part of today’s game.”
NOTES: Schmidt’s four points matched his single-game NHL-career high (four assists with the Vegas Golden Knights on Nov. 17, 2019, against the Calgary Flames). His first assist was also the 200th of his career, joining Torey Krug (394 assists) and Neal Pionk (218) as the third active undrafted defenseman to reach the milestone. … Utah defensemen have scored game-winning goals in five of their past six victories.
