The Vegas Golden Knights (5-0-2) swept their three-game homestand with a 4-1 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes (5-1-0) Monday night at T-Mobile Arena.
But on the same day the Golden Knights put captain Mark Stone on injured reserve, goaltender Adin Hill sustained what appeared to be a lower-body injury. Hill left the contest less than 10 minutes into the first period after remaining down on the ice for some time; he did not return to the game.
Akira Schmid finished the night with 23 saves on 24 shots for a .958 save percentage in his second relief appearance in the last week. Schmid is now 4-0-0 this season.
The Golden Knights got goals from Jack Eichel, Pavel Dorofeyev, Ivan Barbashev and William Karlsson, who recorded his 400th point as a member of the Golden Knights with an empty-net goal that sealed the win.
For the second game in a row, the Golden Knights scored first, as Eichel got a fortunate bounce courtesy of defenseman K’Andre Miller, who put the puck into his own net 8:42 into the opening frame. It was a full-line goal for the new-look top line of Eichel, Barbashev and Brandon Saad, who filled in for the injured Stone.
But the injury bug struck again just prior to the midway mark of the first, as Hill remained down on the ice for an extended period of time.
He was helped off the ice after consulting with a trainer but did not appear to put any weight on his leg. It was the second time in three starts that Hill was forced to leave with an injury after doing so last Tuesday in Calgary.
But less than a minute after Schmid took over crease duties, the Golden Knights doubled their lead on an absolute dandy by Dorofeyev, who used the “Forsberg” after getting in alone on netminder Frederik Andersen.
Mitch Marner’s assist on Dorofeyev’s goal was the 750th point of his NHL career. He finished the game with two assists for his fourth consecutive multi-point effort.
The Golden Knights led 2-0 after 20 minutes, but Carolina cut the deficit in half when Sebastian Aho got the Hurricanes on the board 4:18 into the second period.
Schmid made a key shorthanded stop on Miller with 9:15 remaining in the period, but it was Andersen who had the save of the night in the final three minutes of the second.
Andersen absolutely robbed Dorofeyev on what looked like another slam-dunk goal on a backdoor one-timer on the power play.
The Golden Knights carried a 2-1 lead into intermission after both teams came up with two impressive penalty kills in a relatively uneventful second frame.
The Golden Knights got another fortunate break at Miller’s expense when Barbashev did not get called for a penalty despite slashing Miller’s stick. Miller lost his footing after taking the slash, and Barbashev took full advantage, collecting the loose puck and beating Andersen to restore Vegas’ two-goal lead. This proved to be the turning point in the game.
Shortly thereafter, Carolina defenseman Alexander Nikishin was whistled for slashing after breaking up a potential scoring chance for Colton Sissons. This set up Vegas’ fourth man-advantage of the game with just under eight minutes remaining, but the Carolina penalty kill prevented Vegas from registering a single shot.
The Hurricanes pulled Andersen with 2:29 remaining, but Karlsson iced the win with an empty-net goal at 18:23.
It was a relatively even matchup between two of the top teams in the NHL, but the Golden Knights were able to extend their winning streak to four games while handing the Hurricanes their first loss of the year.
The Golden Knights have had their issues so far this season but have managed to come away with at least a point in every game, which is all the more important now that the injuries are starting to pile up. The last four games have been regulation wins, and the Golden Knights’ confidence continues to rise, even without the services of Stone, which is a major loss.
To his credit, Saad took the opportunity and ran with it. It was his best game of the season, and he was convincing in the elevated role. He was strong on the forecheck, went to the net and fired four shots on goal after recording five through the first six games of the year.
Schmid delivered another rock-solid performance despite being forced to come in cold. He has now stopped 42 of 43 shots in two relief appearances (.977 save percentage) this season.
The Golden Knights were excellent on the penalty kill, finishing 4-for-4. The power play, which went 0-for-4 against an aggressive Carolina unit, will not be the same without Stone, though Dorofeyev did have what looked like an empty net on the man-advantage, which bodes well moving forward.
Eichel extended his season-opening point streak to seven games and continues to lead the NHL with 16 points.
Alexander Holtz seemed to have decent chemistry with fellow countryman Karlsson, though the two were unable to break through. The trio of Holtz, Karlsson and Reilly Smith led 4-1 in shots in just under eight minutes of action, according to Natural Stat Trick.
The injury bug is really starting to make the rounds, as the Golden Knights are currently without Stone, Hill, Brett Howden and Noah Hanifin.
However, Vegas has the rest of the week off before opening a three-game road trip with a back-to-back set against Florida and Tampa Bay over the weekend and then facing Carolina on Tuesday.
Statistics courtesy of Natural Stat Trick.