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March 28, 2024

Live coverage: Golden Knights fight back, but ultimately fall to Hurricanes

VGK Golden Knights Hurricanes

Carolina Hurricanes celebrate a goal against the Golden Knights during the first period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/L.E. Baskow)

Updated Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021 | 9:44 p.m.

The Golden Knights fought hard to erase a deficit against one of the NHL's elite teams, but ran out of gas as the game went on.

The Carolina Hurricanes scored the first two goals of the game, only to have Vegas strike back with two to tie it. The Golden Knights gave up one in the third and hung around for awhile, but Vincent Trocheck's goal with 6:19 to play sent fans to the exit, and the home team came up on the wrong end of a 4-2 final at T-Mobile Arena on Thursday.

Despite a massive disadvantage in shots and puck possession, the Golden Knights entered the third period in a 2-2 tie with the Hurricanes, who with the victory improved to an NHL-best 12-2-0 on the season, but Carolina grabbed a quick one to put Vegas on its heels. Seth Jarvis saw a pinballing puck land on his stick and he buried it just 1:11 into the third.

Carolina added to the lead on Trocheck's goal, and despite Robin Lehner leaving for an extra attacker with more than two minutes to play, Vegas couldn't tie the game.

The way the Hurricanes started, it wouldn't have been a surprise had they run away with the game. They came out of the gate for the first period flying and were rewarded with two goals. Tony DeAngelo was first, finishing a perfect cross-ice pass from Martin Necas, then Sebastian Aho cleaned up a power-play rebound at the end of the first to put Carolina up 2-0. The Hurricanes led 15-7 in shots after 20 minutes.

Vegas, though, didn't shrink. The Golden Knights answered Carolina's first-period intensity with a burst of energy in the second, and got two goals out of it. Brett Howden won a foot race on a rush with a defenseman then won a one-on-one battle with the goalie to get Vegas on the board, then Shea Theodore's trio of shots ended with a tap-in from the blue paint, and just like that it was a 2-2 game.

As the second period went on, Carolina started to take command of the game. By the end of the second period the shots advantage was 34-16, a margin that continued to grow in the third period. Nearly 15 minutes into the third, Vegas had just four shots in the period, and nine since Theodore's goal half an hour of game time earlier.

Carolina finished with a 42-23 lead in shots on goal as Vegas dropped to 3-1-0 on the current six-game homestand.

Golden Knights erase 2-goal deficit, tie Hurricanes

So about the Golden Knights coming back from down two goals to the team with the best record in the league? They made short work of that in the second period.

Vegas jumped over the Carolina Hurricanes to start the middle frame, scoring twice early on and erasing the 2-0 first-period deficit, sending Tuesday's game at T-Mobile Arena to the second intermission in a 2-2 tie.

The start of the second period was a frenzy, and it started with a goal form Vegas' fourth line and third defensive pair. Ben Hutton, a midseason free-agent signing playing his second game with the Golden Knights, chipped the puck out and started a foot race between Brett Howden and Carolina's Brendan Smith. Howden sped by Smith, brother of Vegas forward Reilly, and put a nice move on goalie Antti Raanta to beat him blocker-side and get Vegas on the board.

It took just 1:19 of game time to strike again. This time it was Shea Theodore, pinching from the blue line and collecting a Mark Stone pass in close. Theodore shot not once, but three times as Raanta denied the first two, but the third was sitting in the crease and Theodore tapped it in for this third of the season to tie the game.

Those four shots on goal were it for the Golden Knights for about the period, and Carolina continued to pressure the Vegas net. Possession was lopsided, particularly in a late-period shift where the Hurricanes held the zone for over a minute, but without a goal.

Most of the period after Theodore's goal was that way. Carolina had the Golden knights more than doubled-up in shots through two periods (34-16), but Vegas hung tough to keep the score tied.

Golden Knights down two goals after one period against Hurricanes

For the second game in a row, the Golden Knights fell behind 2-0 in the first period. Facing the team with the best record in the league, they're going to have a harder time coming back from this one.

Vegas had a few scoring chances in the first period, but the Carolina Hurricanes buried two of theirs, and sent the Golden Knights to the first intermission chasing two goals at T-Mobile Arena on Tuesday.

The Golden Knights had a terrific early chance thanks to a crafty play from Evgenii Dadonov. Carolina's Ethan Bear stumbled just enough while defending Dadonov's zone entry that the Vegas forward was able to turn on the burners and skate behind the net with speed. He was so quick on the wrap-around try that Antti Raanta couldn't get his pad to the ice fast enough and the puck went between his legs. Unfortunately for the Golden Knights it hit the far post, and Raanta covered it before Mark Stone could follow through and whack it in.

But it was Carolina who jumped out to the lead, thanks to some picture-perfect passing. Vincent Trocheck started it with a touch pass to Martin Necas entering the zone, who slid the puck through traffic across the ice to Tony DeAngelo. There was nothing but white space between DeAngelo and Robin Lehner, and DeAngelo didn't miss his shot, beating Lehner clean at 11:07 for a 1-0 Hurricanes advantage.

Keegan Kolesar took an offensive-zone tripping penalty late in the period, giving Carolina the first power play. It proved costly for Vegas, as the Hurricanes made quick work: Tuevo Teravainen blasted a one-timer that kicked right to the middle of the ice, and Sebastian Aho was there for the easy rebound with 57 seconds left in the period.

Carolina led 15-7 in shots on goal for the period.

Golden Knights face toughest challenge yet against Hurricanes

In one corner is one of the most injured teams in the league — one that added two players to the league's COVID-19 protocol this week including its top scorer. In the other is a healthy powerhouse, the team with the best record in the league.

The Golden Knights take on the Carolina Hurricanes, which at 11-2-0 have the best record in the NHL, at 7 p.m. today at T-Mobile Arena. It's just the 10th time Vegas has been a home underdog (plus-130), and the team will be missing top scorer Jonathan Marchessault to COVID protocols. For a team that's handled plenty of adversity already, this will be its stiffest challenge yet.

"I think it's a good test for our group," Vegas defenseman Shea Theodore said. "They've been playing good hockey and their record shows, and it's going to be a game where we have to continue to really just battle it out, play our style, try and shut these high-offensive teams up."

Marchessault's absence throws the rest of the lineup into a state of mystery. The team held an optional morning skate, so there were no line rushes. Reilly Smith and Nicolas Roy will likely stay together, but who skates as the left wing is unknown, particularly after Mattias Janmark and Chandler Stephenson took maintenance days Monday. Paul Cotter and Sven Baertschi were both recalled from the Silver Knights this morning, and both could draw in. William Carrier, who has been injured, was added to COVID protocols Monday.

Marchessault has helped keep the Golden Knights afloat in the early parts of the season. With Mark Stone, Max Pacioretty, William Karlsson and others missing, Marchessault has had to step up and did so to the tune of 13 points and nine goals. No one else has more than five goals, and only Chandler Stephenson (15) has more points.

"Those things are just another thing you've got to get over," Smith said. "We have a game tonight; we have to focus on that. We wish we could have certain people in the lineup, but we don't, and we have to move on."

It's unfortunate timing for the Golden Knights, who take on arguably the best team in the league. Carolina has steamrolled through its first 13 games with a league-low 25 goals allowed and league-best plus-20 goal differential. Much of that has come through the brilliant play of goalie Frederik Andersen, who leads the league in save percentage and goals saved above expected. But he is not expected to play tonight.

Even without Andersen, the Hurricanes are a force. Andrei Svechnikov leads the way offensively with seven goals and 17 points, but Sebastian Aho and Tony DeAngelo are also both above a point-per-game on average.

"I think there's a consensus out there that these guys are, if not the best team in the league, in that conversation," Vegas coach Pete DeBoer said. "They're fairly healthy, they've been rolling through a lot of really good teams. Great test for us."

Carolina last visited T-Mobile Arena on Feb. 8, 2020, in what was DeBoer's first home game as Vegas coach. The Golden Knights lost that game 6-5 in a shootout and are 3-1-2 all-time against the Hurricanes. Robin Lehner, the Golden Knights' projected starting goalie, is 0-5-0 all-time against the Hurricanes. They are the only team (except Vegas) he has not beaten in his 12-year career.

TV: AT&T SportsNet (DirecTV 684, Cox 1313, CenturyLink 1760)

Radio: Fox Sports 1340 AM and 98.9 FM

Betting line: Golden Knights plus-130, Hurricanes minus-150; over/under: 6 (plus-105, minus-125)

Golden Knights (9-6-0, 18 points; t-4th place, Pacific Division)

Coach: Pete DeBoer (third season)

Points leaders: Chandler Stephenson (15)

Goals leader: Jonathan Marchessault (9)

Assists leader: Chandler Stephenson (10)

Expected goalie: Robin Lehner (2.83 GAA, .918 save percentage)

Hurricanes (11-2-0, 22 points; t-1st place, Metropolitan Division)

Coach: Rod Brind'Amour (fourth season)

Points leader: Andrei Svechnikov (17)

Goals leader: Andrei Svechnikov (7)

Assists leader: Tony DeAngelo (11)

Expected goalie: Antti Raanta (2.49 GAA, .900 save percentage)

Golden Knights projected lineup

Forwards

Mattias Janmark—Nicolas Roy—Reilly Smith

Evgenii Dadonov—Chandler Stephenson—Mark Stone

Paul Cotter—Jake Leschyshyn—Keegan Kolesar

Michael Amadio—Brett Howden—Jonas Rondbjerg

Defensemen

Nicolas Hague—Alex Pietrangelo

Ben Hutton—Shea Theodore

Brayden McNabb—Dylan Coghlan

Goalies

Robin Lehner, Laurent Brossoit

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