Colin Miller had a goal and two assists and Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 27 shots as the Vegas Golden Knights beat the host Carolina Hurricanes 5-1 on Sunday, giving the first-year franchise the best record in the NHL.
Vegas (31-11-4) has 66 points, one more than Eastern Conference-leading Tampa Bay. The Knights, who lead the West by three points, are two wins shy of tying the record for victories by an expansion team. That mark is held by the 1993-94 Anaheim Ducks and 1993-94 Florida Panthers.
“It’s an interesting story, and it’s still being written,” Miller said.
This trip to Raleigh, N.C., went much better for Vegas head coach Gerard Gallant than his last. In his previous visit in November 2016, he was fired at the arena by the Florida Panthers. While the team bus took away his players, Gallant was left to wait for a taxi.
“I’m happy to be where I’m at, with the team I’m with,” Gallant said.
Jets 1, Canucks 0: Patrick Laine scored in the first period and Connor Hellebuyck stopped 29 shots for his fourth shutout as Winnipeg extended its home winning streak to six games. The game marked the return of Vancouver center Bo Horvat. The 2017 All-Star had been out since Dec. 5 with broken ankle.
Kings 4, Rangers 2: Tanner Pearson, Michael Amadio and Jake Muzzin each scored on the power play as host Los Angeles ended a losing streak at six games. Jonathan Quick made 21 saves for the Kings while ending his personal five-game losing skid. Trevor Lewis added an empty-net goal with 17.8 seconds remaining.
Flyers 2, Capitals 1: Travis Konecny scored 27 seconds into overtime as visiting Philadelphia won for the seventh time in eight games. Alex Ovechkin scored his NHL-best 29th goal for Washington, which has dropped three in a row.
Briefly: Tampa Bay wing Ondrej Palat, speared by the Wild’s Jared Spurgeon on Saturday, returned to Tampa to be examined and will be out indefinitely, the Tampa Bay Times reported. ... St. Louis wing Jaden Schwartz, sidelined since Dec. 9 because of an ankle injury, practiced with the team and could be activated from injured reserve for St. Louis’ game with Ottawa on Tuesday, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported. ... The Canucks placed defenseman Erik Gudbranson (back injury) on IR.