David Becker / Associated Press
Vegas Golden Knights center Jack Eichel (9) shoots against New Jersey Devils goaltender Jake Allen (34) during the second period of an NHL hockey game Sunday, March 17, 2024, in Las Vegas.
Sunday, March 17, 2024 | 3:54 p.m.
Jack Eichel scored his 21st goal of the season and the Vegas Golden Knights beat the New Jersey Devils 3-1 on Sunday.
After the Devils took a 1-0 lead 38 seconds into the third period, the Golden Knights scored the next two goals.
Maneuvering his way through the neutral zone and finding open ice at the top of the slot, Eichel finally beat New Jersey goalie Jake Allen with his seventh shot of the game to the delight of an announced sold-out crowd of 18,234.
William Carrier and William Karlsson also scored for Vegas, while goalie Logan Thompson stopped 19 shots. Defenseman Noah Hanifin had two assists.
Nico Hischier scored for New Jersey, which played on the second leg of back-to-back nights and its fourth road game in seven days. Allen made 34 saves.
Dawson Mercer appeared to open the scoring early for the Devils, tapping in a rebound, but the goal was overturned when it was ruled Timo Meier interfered with Thompson.
From there it turned into a shooting gallery for the Golden Knights, who went on to outshoot the Devils 24-15 through the 19:22 mark of the third period.
That was when Hischier took advantage of an errant rebound moments into the final stanza after the initial shot trickled past Thompson and Hanifin batted the puck into the slot.
But the Golden Knights weren’t too deflated, as Alex Pietrangelo took a cross-ice pass from Hanifin, and ripped a wrister from the top of the left circle, which deflected off Carrier’s shoulder to tie the game moments after Hischier’s goal.
Karlsson’s empty-net goal with 20 seconds remaining provided the final margin.
Golden Knights Ivan Barbashev and Ben Hutton both played in their 500th career game.
