On the Strip, William Carrier scored with 18 seconds left on the game clock to give the Golden Knights a 2-1 win over the San Jose Sharks on Thursday night.
“I’m having a good year, obviously. I score when it’s clutch,” Carrier said. “I’ll take that, obviously. I like playing with ‘Stevie.’ I’m getting those [goals]. We’re screening and getting those shots. We’re rolling right now.”
It was the fourth straight win for the Knights who had been in a bit of a funk ahead of the streak.
Adin Hill made 25 saves in the Vegas win.
“It’s not easy to win in this league. We talked about being comfortable in low-scoring games,” Golden Knights coach Bruce Cassidy said. “We gave up not very much, so that shows me we were defending well. Offensively, we created some looks we didn’t finish on. … We stuck with it. You come back in the third period to win a hockey game. That’s not easy to do in the League either.
“I’m happy we came out on the right side of it because I look at the big picture, we were the better team.”
The Golden Knights improved to 33-18-4.
Alexander Barabanov was the lone striker for the Sharks, his second period goal gave them a 1-0 lead.
“He’s a really smart player,” Sharks coach David Quinn said of Barbanov. “He’s strong on his skates for a small guy (5-foot-10, 195 pounds). He makes real good decisions with the puck. … He generates a lot of offense. When the puck’s on his stick, good things usually happen.”
San Jose dropped to 17-28-11.
The win was the ninth time this season that Vegas has rallied in the third period to win.
“We have a confidence in ourselves going into the third,” Golden Knights forward Jack Eichel said. “If we’re down a goal or if the game’s tied, we feel comfortable to find ways to win. You saw that tonight. You’ve seen in the past a few times. I would love it if we were going into the third with a lead more often and not chasing games, but it’s good to see we’re finding ways to win and come from behind.”
Paul Cotter tied the game, 1-1, at 6:22 of the third.
“He has a breakaway earlier by getting available. He made a nice move. The guy made a save. [Next] time, he decided to rip it, it just worked out for us,” Cassidy said. “It was a big goal. He’s more of the guy who will shoot it. It shows in his numbers. You need some of those guys. I’m glad he shot it tonight. He does have a good shot. He has the ability to beat the goaltender.”
Kaapo Kahkonen made 36 saves in the hard luck loss for the Sharks.
“Our goalie was outstanding tonight. I thought it was his best game of the year,” Quinn said. “I’m just really disappointed we couldn’t finish it off in the last 17 seconds.”
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