LAS VEGAS — Reilly Smith scored off a pass from Michael Amadio with 3:42 left to give the Vegas Golden Knights a 3-2 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes on Wednesday night.
The Knights went back into first place alone in the Pacific Division with 78 points. Vegas has points in 10 of its past 11 games (7-1-3).
Carolina, which is first in the Metropolitan Division with 86 points, lost back-to-back games for the first time since Jan. 3 and 5.
Jack Eichel scored two goals for the Knights, both coming in the second period. The first was on a shot from the slot and the second on a breakaway, to give the Knights a 2-1 lead. He has scored five goals in five games and has a team-high 22 for the season.
Ivan Barbashev assisted on the second goal, giving his first point with Vegas since being acquired from St. Louis on Sunday.
Smith’s goal came after Carolina tied the score with 7:16 left in the third period as Jordan Staal redirected Brent Burns’ shot from the point.
The Hurricanes’ other goal came from right wing Martin Necas, who has a team-best 53 points. Necas faked out Vegas defenseman Alex Pietrangelo and scored from the slot.
Amadio’s assist came in his 100th career game for the Knights.
The Hurricanes play at Arizona on Friday night.
