Alex Tuch scored his seventh goal of the season with 2:28 remaining as the Vegas Golden Knights returned from a layoff with a 4-3 victory against the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday night in Raleigh, N.C.
Tuch's winning goal came just six seconds into a power play and only 71 seconds after Sebastian Aho tied the game for Carolina, which had trailed since early in the game. Aho was in the box for hooking when Tuch converted.
The teams combined to score four goals in a 5 1/2-minute span down the stretch.
Paul Stastny and Jonathan Marchessault each had a goal and an assist, while Nate Schmidt also scored for the Golden Knights. Reilly Smith had assists on the first two Vegas goals.
Golden Knights goalie Malcolm Subban stopped 22 shots.
Teuvo Teravainen and Aho each registered a goal and an assist for the Hurricanes. Brock McGinn ignited the comeback with a goal.
Goalie Petr Mrazek made 33 saves for Carolina, which had its two-game winning streak snapped.
Both teams had been off since Jan. 21.
Vegas compiled a 4-5-1 record in January, which included a coaching change when Gerard Gallant was fired and replaced by Peter DeBoer on Jan. 15.
The Hurricanes lost for the first time in three games that veteran right winger Justin Williams has played since he came out of retirement last month. It was Carolina's fourth game of a break-interrupted, five-game homestand.
The Golden Knights went up 3-1 on a nifty goal in transition capped when Schmidt finished the sequence with 7:51 remaining. That gave Vegas its second two-goal lead of the night.
The Hurricanes responded on McGinn's laser shot just 16 seconds later. Williams picked up his first assist of the season on the tally.
Aho's goal came on a tip of defenseman Jaccob Slavin's shot with 3:39 to play.
Vegas had the early burst, peppering Mzarek with 16 first-period shots and converting on two of those.
Stastny had his 15th goal of the season just 3:52 into the game. Marchessault produced his goal right before the 10-minute mark.
Teravainen collected the only goal of the second period, bringing Carolina within 2-1 at 9:55.
--Field Level Media
Vegas | Carolina | |
Jonathan Marchessault 2 | Points | Sebastian Aho 2 |
Jonathan Marchessault 1 | Goals | Sebastian Aho 1 |
Reilly Smith 2 | Assists | Sebastian Aho 1 |
Alex Tuch 1 | Power Play Goals | Sebastian Aho 1 |
N/A | Short Handed Goals | N/A |
Malcolm Subban .880 | Save Percentage | Petr Mrazek .892 |
Malcolm Subban 22 | Saves | Petr Mrazek 33 |
Team | Shots | Goals | Power Play | Penalty Kill | Penalty Mins | Face Offs Won |
Vegas | 37 | 4 | 1-3 | 1-2 | 4 | 32 |
Carolina | 25 | 3 | 1-2 | 2-3 | 6 | 28 |