The Vegas Golden Knights made their anticipated return to the Fortress and we were able to give some lucky fans tickets and a ride on the Zamboni. It was Pete DeBoer’s first game in Vegas as the Golden Knights head coach. His team came out strong for him in the first. Max Pacioretty scored his 24th of the season, and Jon Merrill added his second for 2-0 edge. Carolina would get one on the board late in the period on a fluky goal passed Marc-Andre Fleury making it 2-1 Vegas.
Shea Theodore gave Vegas a two-goal lead at:59 seconds into the 2nd period. The Golden Knights would hold a 3-1 lead for the rest of the 2nd period.
Sebastian Aho scored quickly to start the 3rd period getting the visiting team within one. Chandler Stephenson gave Vegas a two-goal lead again with a shorthanded tally. Carolina’s Erik Haula scored a power-play goal two minutes later making it 4-3 Vegas.
The Hurricanes wouldn’t go away and tied it up 4-4 halfway through the final period. Carolina took a 5-4 lead six minutes later. However, Cody Eakin tied the game at five with a big goal late in the period. The game would need an overtime penalty and eventually a shootout to decide the winner. Carolina scored two passed Marc-Andre Fleury to seal the 6-5 SO victory.
Vegas’ record drops to 28-22-8 with 64 points on the season. Next up for the Golden Knights is the Minnesota Wild. The team will travel to play the Wild on Tuesday night. Game starts at 5P.