National Hockey League
Vegas 6, Montreal 2
When: 7:00 PM ET, Saturday, November 23, 2024
Where: Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec
Referees: Eric Furlatt, Frederick L'Ecuyer
Linesmen: Scott Cherrey, Ryan Daisy
Attendance: 21105

Jack Eichel and Ivan Barbashev each had a goal and two assists and the visiting Vegas Golden Knights tied a franchise record by scoring five goals in the second period en route to a 6-2 victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night.

Callahan Burke scored his first NHL goal and Tomas Hertl, Tanner Pearson and Keegan Kolesar also scored for Vegas, which leapfrogged Calgary, a 4-3 shootout winner over Minnesota earlier Saturday, back into first place in the Pacific Division with the win.

Noah Hanifin and Shea Theodore added two assists apiece and Adin Hill finished with 15 saves as the Golden Knights won their second straight game.

Emil Heineman and Jayden Struble scored goals and Brendan Gallagher had two assists for Montreal, which had won three of its past four games. Samuel Montembeault stopped 20 of 25 shots before giving way to Cayden Primeau at the start of the third period. Primeau finished with two saves for the Canadiens, who dropped their seventh straight game against Vegas, including four in a row at the Bell Centre.

After a tight-checking, scoreless opening period, Vegas exploded for five goals in less than 13 minutes to tie the team mark for most goals in a frame, accomplished two other times.

Hertl started the scoring at the 4:39 mark with a one-timer into an open right side of the net off a Brayden McNabb crossing pass for his eighth goal.

Burke, a 27-year-old former captain at Notre Dame, made it 2-0 with a one-timer from the top of the slot past Montembeault's blocker side for his first goal in six career NHL games.

Barbashev followed with his ninth goal of the season 49 seconds later, finishing a two-on-one rush with Eichel with a tap-in into an open net. Pearson scored his fourth goal with a blast past Montembeault's blocker side, the fourth goal in a span of 5:56 for the Golden Knights. Kolesar made it 5-0 near the end of the period when he knocked in a feed from Zach Whitecloud.

Heineman cut it to 5-1 at the 2:02 mark of the third period with a power-play goal, one-timing a Joel Armia pass from the right circle. Struble roofed a Gallagher pass at 13:03 to close the deficit to three goals before Eichel finished the scoring with 1:48 remaining with his seventh goal.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Vegas   Montreal
Ivan Barbashev 3 Points Brendan Gallagher 2
Ivan Barbashev 1 Goals Emil Heineman 1
Ivan Barbashev 2 Assists Brendan Gallagher 2
N/A Power Play Goals Emil Heineman 1
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Adin Hill .882 Save Percentage Sam Montembeault .800
Adin Hill 15 Saves Sam Montembeault 20
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Vegas 28 6 0-2 1-2 4 26
Montreal 17 2 1-2 2-2 4 25
Upcoming Games
  • Montreal will play their next game at home against Utah. The Canadiens have a W/L % of .286 after a win and .385 after a loss.
  • Vegas will play their next game on the road against Philadelphia. The Golden Knights have a W/L % of .667 after a win and .556 after a loss.