Golden Knights win seventh straight
LAS VEGAS -- The expansion Vegas Golden Knights will head into 2018 with a three-point lead in the Pacific Division after defeating the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-3 on Sunday afternoon at T-Mobile Arena.
Center William Karlsson scored his first career hat trick and the first in team history and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, Erik Haula and Jonathan Marchessault also scored while goalie Malcolm Subban had 19 saves for Vegas (26-9-2), which added to its Pacific Division lead over the idle Los Angeles Kings (23-11-5).
Vegas extended its winning streak to seven games, longest in NHL history for a team in its inaugural season. The Golden Knights also improved to 16-2-1 at T-Mobile Arena and are 11-0-1 in their last 12 games, not having lost a contest in regulation since falling at Atlantic Division leading Winnipeg, 7-4, on Dec. 1.
Auston Matthews scored two goals and Patrick Marleau added one for Toronto. Frederik Andersen finished with 25 saves in net for the Maple Leafs (23-15-2).
Vegas bolted to a 3-0 lead in the first period. Bellemare notched his fourth goal of the season with a backhand under the glove of Andersen off a pass from Alex Tuch just 2:24 into the game.
Karlsson made it 2-0 at 4:17 with a one-timer from the right circle off a pass from Reilly Smith to finish a two-on-one break.
Haula scored his 14th goal of the season when he picked up the puck at center ice and then fired a wrist shot that defenseman Ron Hainsey appeared to screen Andersen on.
Marleau scored his 15th goal of the season early in the second period to make it 3-1 when he took a pass from right wing Connor Brown in front of the net and spun around and slid the puck inside the left post.
Karlsson answered at 8:26 with a one-timer off a Marchessault pass from the behind the net.
The Maple Leafs closed to with 4-3 on a pair of goals by Matthews over a 74 second span, the first on a wrist shot followed by rebound of a Morgan Rielly shot just 27 seconds into the third period.
But Marchessault made it 5-3 off a pass from Karlsson following after an end-to-end rush by defenseman Shea Theodore, and Karlsson sealed it with an empty-netter at 18:24, diving and flicking his stick at the puck in the right circle after winning a race with Rielly down the right side.
NOTES: C William Karlsson now has nine first-period goals this season, which ties him with Washington's Alex Ovechkin for most in the NHL. ... Vegas returns to action on Tuesday with a home game against Nashville while Toronto opens a six-game homestand on Tuesday against Tampa Bay. ... D Connor Carrick, G Curtis McElhinney and C Nazem Kadri were scratched by the Maple Leafs while C Ryan Carpenter and D Brad Hunt were scratched by the Golden Knights.