RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Jack Eichel scored twice in the final 4:59 to help the Vegas Golden Knights beat the Carolina Hurricanes 6-3 on Tuesday night.
First Eichel forced a turnover on Taylor Hall's pass near the blue line, then took Ivan Barbashev's pass and went the other way to beat Frederik Andersen for a 4-3 lead.
Minutes later, Eichel — celebrating his 29th birthday — finished another feed from Barbashev to make it 5-3 with roughly 2 1/2 minutes left.
Tomas Hertl added an empty-net clincher as Vegas closed out a second win against Carolina in nine days.
Pavel Dorofeyev scored twice in the first period for Vegas, the second coming on the power play, and Brett Howden had a backhand-forehand finish on Andersen to tie it at 3 early in the third.
Akira Schmid had 21 saves for Vegas.
Carolina's Andrei Svechnikov broke through in the opening minutes with a one-timer off a power-play faceoff win for his first goal of the season, which also marked Carolina's third goal with the man advantage after a rough start to the season.
Jordan Martinook and Logan Stankoven also scored for the Hurricanes, while Andersen finished with 29 saves.
The Hurricanes were the NHL's last unbeaten team after starting 5-0 by winning the first three games of their first trip, but the Golden Knights took a 4-1 win in last week's first meeting. That was part of a 4-2-0 swing on the road, though the Hurricanes were hit by a series of injuries that pressed younger or unproven talent into the lineup.
That included defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere missing the past three games with a lower-body injury before returning for this one, only to exit after the first period with what coach Rod Brind'Amour described as a midsection issue. And when Joel Nystrom took a puck to the mouth in the second period, Carolina was down to four defensemen until well into the third period.
Up next
Golden Knights: Host Colorado on Friday.
Hurricanes: Host the New York Islanders on Thursday.
-
Vegas Golden Knights fans still fired up after Western Conference Finals sweep
Vegas Golden Knights are soaking in the Western Conference Finals sweep, flocking to local stores to stock up on Stanley Cup Final merchandise.
Late hire Tortorella has Vegas in Stanley Cup Final, poised to join elite group
The late-season move by the Golden Knights to fire coach Bruce Cassidy and bring on John Tortorella might have seemed to be out of desperation on the surface. It comes with a history of some success.
Fans celebrate as Vegas Golden Knights sweep Western Conference Finals, head for the Stanley Cup
As the Golden Knights wait to find out who they'll play next, fans are already celebrating. Cheers rang out through Toshiba Plaza. Sports Reporter Alex Eschelman shows us why they believe this is the Knights's year to bring the cup back to Vegas.
Golden Knights sweep Avalanche to advance to 3rd Stanley Cup Final in 9 seasons
The Golden Knights will get a break while they watch to see whether Carolina or Montreal emerges from the Eastern Conference Final.