William Carrier scored his third goal in two games, leading the Vegas Golden Knights to a 4-1 victory over the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday night.
Mark Stone, William Karlsson, and Jack Eichel also found the net for the Golden Knights, while Logan Thompson stopped 38 shots to earn his 11th win, second-most in the NHL.
Jake Sanderson scored his first career goal for Ottawa with his father in attendance, and Cam Talbot made 32 saves.
Carrier’s seventh goal of the season came as he skated through the neutral zone, deftly maneuvered past two Senators in the offensive zone, and fired an off-balance wrist shot to give Vegas a 2-1 lead at 16:23 of the second period.
“A little bit of a blackout. I have to recheck it,” Carrier said with a smile. “But I’ve been hot right now, so confidence is high and we’re playing pretty well. … But Karly had to steal my highlight there with his own highlight one, so I might not make it to the clips here tonight.”
Carrier was referring to Karlsson’s goal that made it 3-1. Karlsson executed a stunning backhand shot off a spin move from the left dot for his fifth goal of the season at 2:39 of the third period.
“I think I’ve seen Karly do special things like that. But Will, he’s playing awesome,” Vegas defenseman Brayden McNabb said. “He’s been a rock star for us. He’s so hard to play against, even in practice, and now he’s showing it in games. I couldn’t be happier for him.”
Eichel sealed the game with a backhand shot from the red line into an empty net with 1:41 left.
The Golden Knights solidified their place atop the Western Conference standings with 33 points heading into Thanksgiving, a significant benchmark for NHL teams. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, 76% of teams in playoff position on Thanksgiving went on to reach the postseason from 2005-06 through 2018-19, the last season not affected by the pandemic.
“It’s relevant, otherwise they wouldn’t bring it up every year,” Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy said. “Still think we’ve got a lot of things we’ve got to do better. But again tonight, one of the things we’ve done well is find ways to win.”
Vegas is aiming to return to the playoffs after missing out for the first time last season.
Stone opened the scoring on a power play with Eichel’s no-look pass, firing a shot into the net for his ninth goal of the season and Eichel’s 15th assist.
Ottawa responded with a power-play goal of their own when Sanderson’s shot from the blue line deflected slightly off Vegas defenseman Alec Martinez’s stick and past Thompson to tie the game.
“It felt nice,” Sanderson said. “Took a while, but I’m happy I got it, and I’m grateful my dad could be there to watch it, so it’s pretty cool.”
Game Notes
- Eichel has recorded at least one point in 16 of Vegas’ first 21 games.
- Golden Knights defenseman Alex Pietrangelo, playing in his 900th career game, registered his team-high 18th assist of the season.
- Sanderson became the first Montana-born skater in NHL history to score a goal.
- Tim Stützle’s assist on Sanderson’s goal made him Ottawa’s franchise leader in points before the age of 21 with 106.
UP NEXT
- Senators: Visit the Anaheim Ducks on Friday.
- Golden Knights: Host the Seattle Kraken on Friday.
