National Hockey League
Vegas 5, Carolina 1
When: 6:00 PM ET, Sunday, January 21, 2018
Where: PNC Arena, Raleigh, North Carolina
Referees: Wes McCauley, Garrett Rank
Linesmen: Ryan Gibbons, Michel Cormier
Attendance: 15303
Colin Miller scored a goal and supplied two assists as the Vegas Golden Knights completed a solid road trip with their best performance, striking early in a 5-1 victory against the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday night at PNC Arena in Raleigh, N.C.

Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, Jonathan Marchessault, James Neal and Brendan Leipsic also scored for Vegas, which was denied reaching the six-goal mark -- something it has done only twice previously this season.

The Golden Knights wrapped up a four-game road trip with five of a possible eight team points.

Vegas goalie Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 27 shots, including all 18 across the final two periods.

The Hurricanes replaced goalie Scott Darling after the third goal came just 12:59 into the game.

Defenseman Jaccob Slavin cut the Hurricanes' deficit to 3-1 with 45 seconds left in the first period with a power-play goal.

Carolina was coming off a five-day layoff when it won Saturday night at Detroit, but it was unable to duplicate that kind of performance.

The Golden Knights had scored only 45 first-period goals this season, the fewest in any period, so the three-goal burst to begin the game was an unexpected boost.

Bellemare opened the scoring at 2:55. Miller's power-play goal at 12:20 was followed 39 seconds later by Marchessault finding the net.

Darling stopped only five of eight shots before Cam Ward, who played a night earlier, was summoned to the ice. Darling's record dropped to 9-13-6, adding to a disappointing recent stretch for the player who was supposed to claim the No. 1 goaltending role.

Ward allowed two goals on 25 shots in his relief effort.

Vegas has posted more shots than its opponent in seven consecutive games.

Since mid-December, the Hurricanes also have taken 8-1 and 7-1 losses, but those results were on the road.

The Hurricanes have lost four consecutive home games, going 0-3-1 on home ice this month.

This was the only home game for the Hurricanes between their five-day break and the upcoming All-Star weekend.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Vegas   Carolina
Colin Miller 3 Points Jaccob Slavin 1
Colin Miller 1 Goals Jaccob Slavin 1
Colin Miller 2 Assists Jeff Skinner 1
Colin Miller 1 Power Play Goals Jaccob Slavin 1
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Marc-Andre Fleury .964 Save Percentage Cam Ward .920
Marc-Andre Fleury 27 Saves Cam Ward 23
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Vegas 33 5 2-4 3-4 10 20
Carolina 28 1 1-4 2-4 10 34
Upcoming Games
  • Carolina will play their next game on the road against Pittsburgh. The Hurricanes have a W/L % of .409 after a win and .480 after a loss.
  • Vegas will play their next game at home against Columbus. The Golden Knights have a W/L % of .700 after a win and .625 after a loss.