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Story by Alan Snel Photos by J. Tyge O’Donnell
If the Vegas Golden Knights are going to compete for a Stanley Cup championship, these two forwards will have to make their marks on the goal-scoring sheet.
VGK center Jack Eichel scored two goals and Misfit Reilly Smith notched his 20th of the season with less than four minutes left in the game against the tough, first-place Carolina Hurricanes to crack a 2-2 tie and give the VGK a 3-2 win before an announced crowd of 17,669 Wednesday night.
Eichel scored his 21st of the season to open the scoring in the second period after a scoreless first 20 minutes.
Carolina’s Martin Necas caused havoc all night long, His right-handed shot and speedy paths around the ice were reminiscent of the former Golden Knights winger, Alex Tuch. He skated more than half of the rink and unleashed a wicked shot that beat VGK goalie Adin Hill to knot the score at one later in the second period. It was his 24th of the season.
Eichel then rushed in on Carolina goalie Frederik Andersen and scored his second of the period with just a little more than a minute to go in the middle stanza.
Vegas led, 2-1, after two periods.
Two Hurricanes veterans teamed up to tie the game in the third period.
Old Sharks nemesis Brent Burns, 37 years old, took a shot from the point and 34-year-old Jordan Staal redirected the puck ever so slightly to beat VGK goalie Hill
That set up the late-game heroics for Smith.
His longtime linemate, William Karlsson, fed Michael Amadio with a clever pass off the boards and Amadio put on the brakes and slipped a pass to Smith at the left doorstep in front of Anderson and Smith deposited the puck into the twine for the 3-2 lead.
The Knights improved to 78 points and play New Jersey Friday here in Las Vegas.
VGK coach Bruce Cassidy on his main message for the team: