Ivan Barbashev recorded a goal and an assist, and the Vegas Golden Knights continued their strong start to the season with a 4-1 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday night.
Jack Eichel, Pavel Dorofeyev, and William Karlsson also scored for Vegas, while Mitch Marner tallied two assists. The Golden Knights remained unbeaten in regulation at 5-0-2, showcasing their depth even after dealing with early injuries.
Goaltender Akira Schmid stopped 23 of 24 shots in relief of Adin Hill, who exited midway through the first period with an apparent injury after making four saves. Schmid improved to 4-0-0 this season.
Dorofeyev continued his breakout campaign, notching his seventh goal of the year — tying Ottawa’s Shane Pinto and Winnipeg’s Mark Scheifele for the league lead. Eichel, meanwhile, boosted his total to an NHL-best 16 points.
Sebastian Aho scored Carolina’s lone goal, his second of the season, while Frederik Andersen made 21 saves. The Hurricanes (5-1-0) suffered their first loss of the year.
Eichel opened the scoring midway through the first period, taking a feed from Brandon Saad and firing a shot that deflected off defenseman K’Andre Miller’s stick and into the net. Less than two minutes later — moments after Hill left the game — Dorofeyev slipped past the Carolina defense and beat Andersen with a smooth forehand-backhand move to make it 2-0.
Aho cut the deficit early in the second period with a quick wrist shot from the right circle, but Barbashev restored the two-goal lead later in the frame, stealing the puck from Miller and finishing on the breakaway. Karlsson sealed the victory with an empty-net goal late in the third.
Just before the puck dropped, Vegas announced Captain Mark Stone had been placed on injured reserve.
Up Next:
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Hurricanes: Continue their six-game road trip Thursday at Colorado.
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Golden Knights: Begin a three-game road swing Saturday in Florida.
