Carolina Hurricanes right wing Justin Williams (14) scores past Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury during a shootout at T-Mobile Arena Saturday, Feb. 8, 2020. The Hurricanes beat the Golden Knights 6-5.
Published Saturday, Feb. 8, 2020 | 3:10 p.m.
Updated Saturday, Feb. 8, 2020 | 9:58 p.m.
The third period of Saturday's game was about as wild as a period as the Golden Knights have had this season. They coughed up a two-goal lead, surrendered four goals and tied it in the dying minutes of the period.
It was a bananas game with an overtime to match. The Golden Knights and Carolina Hurricanes played 65 minutes to a tie, with the Hurricanes winning the shootout and the game, 6-5 at T-Mobile Arena.
It all started early in the third when Sebastian Aho came in hard on the Vegas net. Marc-Andre Fleury initially got the best of Aho, sliding over to deny his first attempt with the pad, a shot on which Aho drew a penalty. They didn't get the power play though, because Aho put home a rebound after all to trim the lead to 3-2.
Then the Hurricanes did get a power play thanks to a Zach Whitecloud high-stick that was called as a double-minor. That out the Hurricanes on a four-minute power play down just a goal, and with all the momentum on their side.
Chandler Stephenson though, was having none of it. He took advantage of an aggressive pinch by Jaccob Slavin, intercepting the pass and going the other way unopposed. His short-handed goal 2:17 was unassisted and it restored Vegas' two goal lead.
The Hurricanes though, were still on the power play. Erik Haula reminded everyone of that, going five-hole on Fleury in his return to Vegas to make it 4-3 at 4:16. They continued the third-period charge at 10:48, tying the game on a Haydn Fleury point shot through a Warren Foegele screen.
It was initially ruled that Foegele interfered with the Golden Knights' Fleury, but Carolina won the challenge and the game sat at 4-4.
They weren't done, scoring their fourth goal of the period on a Martin Necas power-play tally with 6:02 left. It gave the Hurricanes their first lead of the game, and looked like it might seal the game.
Cody Eakin had other ideas though. He pounced on a misplay by Carolina goalie James Reimer and wrapped the puck into the net with 3:53 left to re-tie the game at 5-5.
Max Pacioretty, Jon Merrill and Shea Theodore also scored for the Golden Knights. Teuvo Teravainen scored Carolina's first goal.
Vegas led in shots on goal 38-34 for the game.
Golden Knights extend lead over Hurricanes in second
Two weeks ago the Golden Knights had a two-goal lead against the Carolina Hurricanes, only to see it evaporate before winning in regulation. They'll get another two-goal lead, after a goal in the second period put them up 3-1 going to the third.
Vegas didn't wait around quite as long in the second to get on the board. Shea Theodore and Reilly Smith raced down the ice on a 2-on-1, and after Theodore fed the puck to Smith, the return pass was one-timed by Theodore into the net for a 3-1 lead 59 seconds into the second.
It was Theodore's second point of the night, giving him 37 for the year to match his career-high set last season. It was his eight goal, and his career-best is 12 (also last season).
The action calmed for a little while after that. Vegas had to kill a Brayden McNabb roughing minor, but held the Hurricanes' power play without a shot attempt.
Vegas' fourth line put together a terrific shift with about seven minutes left in the period, where Ryan Reaves shot one just high of the net, missed on a wraparound attempt and Nicolas Roy had his deflection at the doorstep stuffed.
That was Vegas' best look in the period after the Theodore goal. The Hurricanes climbed back into the shots total with 13 in the second period to Vegas' nine, giving the Golden Knights a 22-20 lead for the game.
Golden Knights control possession, lead Hurricanes after 1
The Golden Knights and Carolina Hurricanes are two of the best possession teams in the NHL. But early on in Saturday's game, one team was controlling all the possession.
The first period was all Golden Knights, and they had a 2-1 lead to show for it after 20 minutes.
Vegas led in shots on goal 13-7 and in shot attempts 21-12. Vegas also led in scoring chances 14-3.
Mark Stone was bullish to begin the game with takeovers and set an early tone for the the Golden Knights. Shea Theodore helped that by ringing the puck off the post.
The Golden Knights controlled the game and were finally rewarded twice in quick succession. The line of Stone, Pacioretty and Chandler Stephenson were everywhere in front of the net, then at 13:26. Nick Holden and Theodore went d-to-d, then Pacioretty redirected Theodore's shot for his team-best 24th of the season.
Not long after, Jon Merrill picked up his second of the season. He chased the puck into the low slot and buried a feed from William Carrier 69 seconds after Pacioretty's goal for a 2-0 Vegas lead.
The Golden Knights were in great position to take that lead into the intermission, but the Hurricanes got one back right before the period expired. Teuvo Teravainen just floated one from the blue line that dodged its way through traffic and into the Vegas net with 29 seconds left to make it 2-1.
DeBoer, Whitecloud make home debuts as Golden Knights take on Hurricanes
Peter DeBoer has been to T-Mobile Arena plenty of times. Counting the preseason and playoffs he's coached in Las Vegas 15 times, but tonight will be the first time he'll walk through the home tunnel and stand behind the Golden Knights bench.
He's been the coach for almost four weeks now, but between a season-long road trip, the All-Star break and the bye week, he hasn't coached a game at home yet. That changes tonight when the Carolina Hurricanes come to town for a 7 p.m. puck drop, and DeBoer gets to hear the crowd on his side.
"When the practice rink's exciting and electric, it builds the anticipation for tonight," DeBoer said. "I think it was great that we started on the road with the group. ... I'm excited for tonight and the stretch here."
If fans aren't used to seeing DeBoer behind the Vegas bench they will by the end of the month. The Golden Knights are home for 10 of the next 12 games, giving them a terrific opportunity to cement themselves as the class of a Pacific Division in which they currently rank second. A win tonight and a Vancouver regulation loss would put Vegas in a tie for the lead.
And DeBoer isn't the only one making his home debut. Defenseman Zach Whitecloud has played four games in his NHL career, all on the road. He debuted at Edmonton at the end of the 2017-18 season and was recalled for the first time since then during the just-finished road trip. He'll play his first regular season game at T-Mobile Arena tonight.
"It's exhilarating, and you look forward to it and I can't wait to get going," he said.
The Golden Knights will take on a team similar to themselves. Carolina ranks first in the NHL in percentage of 5-on-5 shot attempts (54.6%) while Vegas is third at 54%. The Hurricanes have two more standings points than the Golden Knights.
It's a matchup of two analytics darling, and led to an entertaining game when they last met on Jan. 31 in Raleigh. Carolina overcame a two-goal deficit in the third period to tie it before Alex Tuch scored with 2:28 left in regulation to give Vegas a 4-3 win.
Marc-Andre Fleury is expected to start in goal for Vegas. He has played each of the last three games with a shutout and a .917 save percentage.
This will be the first game as a visitor at T-Mobile Arena for forward Erik Haula, who was traded from Vegas last summer. He had 62 points in 91 career games with the Golden Knights and has 19 points in 34 games this year.
The Golden Knights are 3-1-1 all-time against the Hurricanes, including 1-0-1 in Las Vegas.
TV: AT&T Sports Net (DirecTV 684, Cox 1313, CenturyLink 1760)
Radio: Fox Sports 1340 AM and 98.9 FM
Betting line: Golden Knights minus-140, Hurricanes plus-120; over/under: 6.0 (minus-120, EVEN)
Golden Knights (28-21-7, 63 points) (14-10-3 home), second place, Pacific Division
Coach: Peter DeBoer (first season)
Points leader: Mark Stone (53)
Goals leader: Max Pacioretty (23)
Assists leader: Mark Stone (33)
Expected goalie: Marc-Andre Fleury (2.77 GAA, .907 save percentage)
Hurricanes (31-20-3, 65 points) (13-11-2 road), fifth place, Metropolitan Division; second place, Wild Card
Coach: Rod Brind'Amour (second season)
Points leader: Tuevo Teravainen (52)
Goals leader: Sebastian Aho (29)
Assists leader: Tuevo Teravainen (51)
Expected goalie: Petr Mrazek (2.73 GAA, .900 save percentage)
Golden Knights projected lineup
Forwards
Jonathan Marchessault—Paul Stastny—Reilly Smith
Max Pacioretty—Chandler Stephenson—Mark Stone
William Carrier—Cody Eakin—Alex Tuch
Tomas Nosek—Nicolas Roy—Ryan Reaves
Defensemen
Brayden McNabb—Nate Schmidt
Nick Holden—Shea Theodore
Jon Merrill—Zach Whitecloud
Goalies
Marc-Andre Fleury, Malcolm Subban
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