The Vegas Golden Knights came up short at home for the first time this season in a 5-2 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes Monday night at T-Mobile Arena.
The loss snapped an eight-game winning streak on home ice and moved Vegas to 9-4-2 on the year.
Akira Schmid — acquired from New Jersey in the Paul Cotter deal over the summer — made his Golden Knights debut after Adin Hill was pulled 6:13 into the second period when Carolina made it 4-0. Schmid finished the game with 12 saves on 12 shots in 33:25.
Original Misfit William Carrier returned to Vegas for the first time since signing with Carolina in the offseason, finishing the game with one shot, one block and five hits in 12:46.
The Golden Knights found themselves trailing less than five minutes into the contest after failing to box out in front, leaving Eric Robinson alone for the tip.
Jesperi Kotkaniemi made it 2-0 eight minutes later, slamming home a rebound after Hill made a fantastic save on the initial attempt in front.
In the end, Carolina led 29-12 in Corsi, 16-4 in shots, 18-4 in scoring chances, 8-2 in high-danger chances and 2-0 where it mattered most through 20 minutes.
The Golden Knights looked better to start the second but got burned on a shorthanded strike by Jordan Staal at 3:38 following a Shea Theodore turnover from behind the net.
Less than three minutes later, Tyson Jost made it 4-0, which ended Hill’s night.
Jack Eichel netted his fifth of the year 6:11 into the third period to make it 4-1.
Bruce Cassidy pulled the goalie with just under six minutes remaining, but the Hurricanes quickly hit the empty net to make it 5-1. Ivan Barbashev later scored on the power play with 13 seconds remaining in regulation for the 5-2 final.
The Golden Knights’ poor start cost them. The opening 20 minutes was the club’s worst period at home this season.
“We got going halfway through the game, but it’s too late,” Cassidy said. “I liked our push after that. I thought we played better against how they play, but it took us too long to get there.”
Cassidy said the Hurricanes didn’t present any surprises, he “just didn’t do a good enough job of preparing the team of what was coming.”
Cassidy stated several times that the game was not on Hill, though Cassidy did not like the first goal. Aside from that, however, the goalie change was made to shake things up.
“It was a split-second decision to get [Schmid] in,” Cassidy said. “I’m not putting any of the game on Hilly, it’s just more about changing the momentum, and I thought Schmid did a good job for us.”
Zach Whitecloud said Hill deserved better from the team.
“That’s our guy back there. He’s been our rock for how many years now?” he said. “There’s never one guy that’s responsible. [Hill] deserved better tonight. He deserved better from us not only as a group of five but all six D and 12 forwards that are in the lineup.”
The Golden Knights were better at the start of the second, but another costly turnover put them in a three-goal hole, and the Hurricanes pounced a few minutes later to take a commanding 4-0 lead.
William Karlsson said those two goals “kind of killed our momentum a little bit. But there were definitely some good plays out there. Their goalie made some incredible saves. He had a good game.”
At the end of the day, Vegas was overwhelmed by Carolina’s possession game and was unable to overcome the deficit.
“It’s 4-0,” Karlsson said. “It’s tough to come back.”
The Golden Knights have three more game this week, including two on the road against Anaheim and Utah for the fathers trip, followed by a home matchup against the Capitals on Sunday. Vegas then hits the road for a five-game swing leading up to the holiday.