The Vegas Golden Knights (6-2-0) handed the Nashville Predators (2-2-2) a 5-2 loss on Tuesday at Bridgestone Arena.
HOW IT WENT DOWN
Four minutes into the first period, Ryan O’Reilly opened the scoring with his second of the season to give Nashville an early 1-0 lead. The Golden Knights responded with two goals of their own from Tomas Hertl and Jack Eichel six minutes apart. Following a turnover, Brett Howden and Raphael Lavoie led the charge for the first goal, where Lavoie found Hertl who beat Juuse Saros short side to even the score at one. Eichel found the back of net with 7:13 remaining in the opening frame to give Vegas a one-goal edge. Brayden McNabb earned an assist with his centering pass, allowing Eichel to tip in the go-ahead goal with a one-handed deflection past Saros.
Before the end of the frame, Jack Drury drew a penalty shot but Adin Hill denied the one-on-one attempt to maintain Vegas' lead heading into the second period. Adam Edstrom evened the game at two with a shorthanded tally nine minutes into the middle frame. William Karlsson put Vegas back in front with 2:16 left in the period with his second goal in as many nights from the right dot on a pass from Mitch Marner. Rasmus Andersson also registered an assist, marking points in back-to-back games for the defenseman.
Trevor Connelly doubled Vegas’ lead with his third goal of the season five minutes into the third period. Noah Hanifin found a wide-open Connelly in the circle and he fired home the one-timer to give the Golden Knights their fourth goal. Dylan Coghlan picked up his first point of the season with the secondary assist. Howden added another tally 1:35 later for the Golden Knights' fifth goal of the game. Andersson tried to find a path towards the net and Howden tipped in the shot for his second goal of the season. The Golden Knights held on for the remaining 13:36 to take the 5-2 win in Nashville, and Hill earned the victory in the crease, stopping 25 shots for a .926 save percentage.
TOP PERFORMERS
William Karlsson: Karlsson earned the game-winning goal in the second period and has scored in back-to-back games.
Jack Eichel: With Eichel’s goal in the first period, he's tied for third in the NHL in points with 13 (4G, 9A).
Adin Hill: Hill made 25 saves to earn his third-straight win of the season.
Trevor Connelly: Connelly tied the rookie league lead in goals with his third of the season.
Rasmus Andersson: Andersson posted a two-point (2A) night and has three points in two games.
Brett Howden: Howden recorded a two-point night (1G, 1A) and has points in back-to-back games.
