Jack Eichel celebrated his 29th birthday in style, scoring twice in the final five minutes to power the Vegas Golden Knights to a 6-3 win over the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday night.
With the game tied 3-3 late in the third, Eichel forced a turnover at the blue line, took a pass from Ivan Barbashev, and raced the other way to beat goaltender Frederik Andersen, giving Vegas the lead with 4:59 remaining. Just over two minutes later, Eichel struck again — once more off a feed from Barbashev — to make it 5-3 and seal the game.
Tomas Hertl added an empty-net goal in the closing seconds, as Vegas won its second over Carolina in nine days.
Pavel Dorofeyev scored twice in the first period, including a power-play tally, while Brett Howden tied the game early in the third with a slick backhand-forehand finish. Akira Schmid made 21 saves for the Golden Knights, who continue to build momentum after a strong start to the season.
Andrei Svechnikov, Jordan Martinook, and Logan Stankoven provided the goals for Carolina. Svechnikov opened the scoring with a power-play strike just minutes into the game — his first goal of the season — marking the Hurricanes’ third man-advantage tally after a sluggish start to the year in that department. Andersen finished with 29 saves.
The Hurricanes entered the night as the NHL’s last unbeaten team at 5-0, but have now dropped two straight to Vegas, including a 4-1 loss last week in Nevada. Carolina’s lineup continues to be tested by injuries: defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere returned from a lower-body injury only to exit after the first period with what coach Rod Brind’Amour called a midsection issue. At the same time, Joel Nystrom briefly left the game after taking a puck to the mouth, leaving the team short-handed on defense until late in the third.
Up Next:
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Golden Knights: Return home to host the Colorado Avalanche on Friday night.
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Hurricanes: Continue their homestand Thursday against the New York Islanders.
