Hill makes 29 saves, Golden Knights score 5 in win against Maple Leafs
Eichel, Hanifin, Hertl, Pearson each gets goal, assist for Vegas, which wins 3rd straight
Maple Leafs at Golden Knights | Recap
LAS VEGAS — Adin Hill made 29 saves – including 16 in the first period – for the Vegas Golden Knights in a 5-2 victory against the Toronto Maple Leafs at T-Mobile Arena on Wednesday.
Tomas Hertl, Noah Hanifin, Jack Eichel, and Tanner Pearson each had a goal and an assist for the Golden Knights (37-18-6), who have won three in a row.
Auston Matthews scored to extend his point streak to 11 games (three goals, 12 assists) for the Maple Leafs (38-21-3), who had points in six straight games (5-0-1). Joseph Woll allowed three goals on seven shots before being relieved by Anthony Stolarz at 15:03 of the first period, who made 17 saves.
The Golden Knights scored the game’s first five goals.
Hertl gave Vegas a 1-0 lead at 4:33 of the first period when tapped in a rebound at the left post after Brandon Saad’s backhand was turned away by Woll.
Brett Howden made it 2-0 at 11:18 with a backhand from the right circle that went underneath Woll’s right arm.
Eichel one-timed a Noah Hanifin pass at 15:03 on the power play to give the Golden Knights a 3-0 lead.
Hanifin scored from the high slot 17 seconds into the second period to push it to 4-0, and Pearson made it 5-0 at 13:33 when he stuffed in a loose puck in the crease.
Matthews collected his own rebound and scored from below the right circle on the power play to make it 5-1 at 18:01.
Marner took the puck off Vegas defenseman Alex Pietrangelo’s stick in the high slot and beat Hill with a wrist shot for the 5-2 final at 13:27 of the third.
Golden Knights forward Raphael Lavoie left the game at 6:19 of the second period with an upper-body injury and did not return.
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Golden Knights top Maple Leafs 5-2 for 3rd straight win
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Jack Eichel, Noah Hanifin and Tomas Hertl each had a goal and an assist and the Vegas Golden Knights won their third straight, 5-2 over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday night.
The Golden Knights, who won for the sixth time in their last seven games, increased their lead in the Pacific Division to six points ahead of the Edmonton Oilers.
At 23-6-3, the Golden Knights are one of only four teams with an NHL-high 23 home wins.
Brett Howden and Tanner Pearson also scored for the Golden Knights while Adin Hill made 29 saves.
Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner scored Toronto’s goals. Joseph Woll allowed three goals and made four saves for the Maple Leafs before being pulled for Anthony Stolarz, who allowed two goals and stopped 16 shots.
Toronto: The Maple Leafs, who dropped to 18-10-2 away from Toronto, had their four-game road win streak snapped.
Vegas: With his goal and assist, Hanifin has now posted three consecutive multipoint games, the longest stretch in his career. Hanifin has nine points (two goals, seven assists) in his last seven games.
Just moments into the second period, Eichel backhanded a pass from his knees to Hanifin, whose shot from the high slot gave Vegas a 4-0 lead. Eichel’s assist was his career-high tying 54th of the season. With his goal and assist, Eichel is now four points shy of tying teammate William Karlsson’s single-season franchise points record of 78.
Hertl, who continued his offensive surge with his fourth goal in six games, is fourth in the NHL with 14 goals since Jan. 7.
The Golden Knights host Pittsburgh on Friday night while the Maple Leafs continue their road trip in Denver against the Avalanche on Saturday.
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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL
