SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Jack Eichel scored two goals and assisted on a third to power the Vegas Golden Knights to a 4-1 victory over the Utah Mammoth on Thursday night.
Ben Hutton and Braeden Bowman each scored a goal and Shea Theodore had three assists to help the Golden Knights win for the third time in four games. Akira Schmid had 25 saves.
Nate Schmidt scored for Utah and Karel Vejmelka made 29 stops. The Mammoth dropped their fourth straight contest and have just two wins in their last 11 games.
After a scoreless first period, Vegas scored twice in 19 seconds early in the second period.
Eichel, who now has 10 goals this season, got the first at 3:09 of the second, slipping the puck behind Vejmelka’s blind side. Hutton followed 19 seconds later, snapping the puck home in traffic to put Vegas up 2-0.
Schmidt scored his first goal of the season at the 6:38 of the second to cut the deficit in half. The Golden Knights regained their two-goal lead when Eichel scored again with 3:09 left in the second, scoring on a breakaway set up by a long pass from Bowman.
Bowman tipped in the puck 45 seconds into the third to complete the scoring.
Vegas has won all seven games this season where it has led after the second period.
Up next
Knights: at Anaheim on Saturday night.
Mammoth: host New York Rangers on Saturday night.
-
Ryan Craig speaks during VGK training camp
Vegas opened its 10th season with a new head coach, a shortened training camp and the sting of finishing two wins shy of the Stanley Cup.
Golden Knights open training camp with ‘unfinished business’ after Stanley Cup Final run
Vegas returns with a shortened training camp, a new head coach in Ryan Craig and much of the core that came within two wins of the Stanley Cup.
Parker Wotherspoon embraces fresh start with VGK after breakout NHL season
Parker Wotherspoon joins the Vegas Golden Knights after a breakout season in Pittsburgh, bringing lessons from Erik Karlsson and a career shaped by patience and resilience.
Parker Wotherspoon embraces fresh start with Golden Knights after breakout NHL season
The 29-year-old defenseman played 80 games with Pittsburgh last season and says he’s excited to join a Golden Knights team built to contend.