The Vegas Golden Knights (37-18-6) earned their third straight win on home ice as they defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs (38-21-3), 5-2, on Wednesday night at T-Mobile Arena.
HOW IT WENT DOWN
After the first shot on goal of the night from Brandon Saad, Tomas Hertl tapped in the rebound to give Vegas a 1-0 lead 4:33 into the first period. Seven minutes later, Brett Howden extended the Golden Knights’ lead to two with a backhand shot, recording his 17th goal of the season. Jack Eichel took advantage of a power-play late in the first period with a goal from the top of the circle to put Vegas ahead by three. Seventeen seconds into the second period, Noah Hanifin tallied a goal of his own to make it 4-0. Tanner Pearson added on the fifth Vegas goal of the night with 6:27 left in the second frame. Toronto’s captain, Auston Matthews, scored a power-goal to give the Maple Leafs their first goal heading into the final frame. Mitch Marner tallied Toronto's second goal of the night 13:27 into the third period, however it wasn’t enough as Vegas secured the 5-2 victory. Adin Hill earned the win by stopping 29-of-31 shots.
TOP PERFORMERS
Tomas Hertl: Hertl scored the opening goal for the Golden Knights, tying him with Pavel Dorofeyev for most goals on the season (24).
Jack Eichel: Eichel extended his point streak to three games with two points (1G, 1A) on the night.
Noah Hanifin: Hanifin increased his multi-point streak to three games and his overall point streak to four games. In those four games, Hanifin has recorded seven points (2G, 5A).
Adin Hill: Hill earned his 23rd win of the season, blocking 29-of-31 shots and recorded a save percentage of .935 in the victory.
Tanner Pearson: Pearson had a goal and an assist for his fifth multi-point game of the season.
VGK STATS OF THE KNIGHT
Howden recorded 30 points for the first time in his career with his goal in the first period.
With his goal in the first period, Eichel became the third Golden Knight to record three consecutive 20-goal seasons.
Eichel extended his single-season franchise record of multi-point games to 25, also tying him for third most in the league, while tallying 1.2 points-per-game with his two points tonight.
Hanifin’s goal to open the second frame was the fastest goal scored by the Golden Knights to open a period this season (17 seconds).
ATTENDANCE: 17,769
LOOKING AHEAD
The Golden Knights will celebrate Women’s History Knight on Friday as they host the Pittsburgh Penguins at 7 p.m. at T-Mobile Arena. Catch the game on Vegas 34, stream on KnightTime+, or listen live on FOX Sports Las Vegas 98.9/1340.
