In Las Vegas, Jack Eichel hit for a double in a 5-2 win for the Golden Knights over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday night.
“It’s just good to get some points at home,” Eichel said. “Defensively, our game is trending in the right direction. For the most part, I liked our defensive game. We were limiting the other team’s chances. We did some good things in the offensive zone as well. The first period wasn’t our best, but through the second and third, we were able to generate some offensive chances.”
Adin Hill got the start, he made 12 saves, yielding one goal, before leaving the game with four minutes gone in the third period, with an apparent injury.
“[Hill] came to the bench and said he wasn’t feeling 100 percent. So we made the switch,” Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy said. “Other than that, he’s getting his tests.”
Logan Thompson made six saves in relief.
Vegas dropped to 38-25-7.
The Blue Jackets took a 1-0 lead in the first period on a strike by Erik Gudbranson at 4:32, scoring off a shot from the point.
“They turned their game up and we didn’t follow suit,” Gudbranson said. “That first period, we should have stuck with that game plan and use our speed. It’s really hard to play against you when guys are flying at you all night long. We stepped away from that and that’s how the game ended.”
Ivan Barbashev scored at 3:31 of the middle frame to tie the game, 1-1, scoring off a rebound.
Eichel potted his first of the night at 4:57, scoring from the left circle for a 2-1 lead.
“If you’re on net, at least, you’re forced to make a save and they have to recover the puck vs. us or take a penalty,” Cassidy said. “That’s what we did better.”
Columbus dropped to 23-36-12 off their fourth straight loss.
“One thing I would say is the team looked tired,” Blue Jackets coach Pascal Vincent said. “When the body gets tired, the brains shuts down. I saw a lot of mistakes. We were second on loose pucks. We weren’t protecting the middle of the ice in the [defensive] zone. We were getting better at that, but today in the second period, we didn’t take care of that. Part of that is Vegas turned the heat up a little bit more.”
Pavel Dorofeyev extended the lead to 3-1 at 3:03 of the third, scoring from the low slot.
Eichel collected his double off a power play at 17:18 for a 4-1 lead.
“The playoffs aren’t too far away, so we want to get on a roll here,” Vegas’ Ben Hutton said. “We want to make sure we’re all feeling good about our game in making the playoffs, so that’s the key.”
Carson Meyer scored with 12 seconds left for the n4-2 final count on the scoreboard.
Daniil Tarasov made 43 saves in the loss.
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