Adin Hill made 37 saves and Shea Theodore scored the winner in the fourth round of the shootout as the Vegas Golden Knights extended their season-opening point streak to 10 games with a 3-2 shootout victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Monday night in Las Vegas.
It was the 50th career victory for Hill, who improved to 5-0-1 on the season. Paul Cotter and William Carrier scored goals for Vegas, which improved to 9-0-1 with its third shootout victory of the season.
Sean Monahan scored a short-handed goal and Nick Suzuki also scored for Montreal, which had a two-game winning streak snapped. Sam Montembeault finished with 23 saves, including one on a penalty shot by Jack Eichel in overtime.
Suzuki and Jonathan Marchessault traded goals in the first three rounds of the shootout before Theodore roofed a backhander starting the fourth round for his sixth career shootout winner. Alex Newhook followed with a chance to tie it and force a fifth round, but his wrist shot hit the left post.
Vegas took a 1-0 lead at the 15:06 mark of the first period on a power-play goal by Cotter. He fired a shot from the right point into traffic that deflected off a Canadiens defender and over Montembeault’s left shoulder for his third goal of the season.
Montreal tied it 1-1 early in the second period with help from Hill. The Vegas goaltender retrieved the puck on a power play by his right circle and attempted to pass it toward the blue line but fanned. The puck then trickled into the slot to Monahan, who fired it past a diving Hill and into an open net for his fifth goal of the season.
The Golden Knights regained the lead near the end of the period by capitalizing on a delayed penalty. Chandler Stephenson rushed up the right wing and then threw a no-look pass toward the left side of the crease where Carrier deflected it into the net for his second goal.
Montreal, which outshot the Golden Knights 27-7 over the second and third periods, tied it with 4:18 left in regulation when Suzuki backhanded in a rebound of a Rafael Harvey-Pinard shot inside the right post.
The Golden Knights had a chance to win it with 2:52 to go in overtime when Eichel got a penalty shot after being held by Suzuki on a breakaway. However, Montembeault turned aside his wrist shot with a pad save.
–Field Level Media
