Eichel scores twice, Golden Knights charge past Blue Jackets

LAS VEGAS -- Jack Eichel scored twice, and the Vegas Golden Knights came from behind to defeat the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-2 at T-Mobile Arena on Saturday.

Ivan Barbashev and Pavel Dorofeyev also scored, and Chandler Stephenson and Shea Theodore each had two assists for Vegas (38-25-7), which has won five of its past seven games. The Golden Knights remained four points ahead of the St. Louis Blues for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference with a game in hand.

“It’s just good to get some points at home,” Eichel said. “Defensively, our game is trending in the right direction. For the most part, I liked our defensive game. We were limiting the other team’s chances. We did some good things in the offensive zone as well. The first period wasn’t our best, but through the second and third, we were able to generate some offensive chances.”

Adin Hill made 12 saves on 13 shots before leaving the game at 4:00 of the third period with an undisclosed injury. Logan Thompson made six saves in relief.

Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy had no update on Hill after the game.

“[Hill] came to the bench and said he wasn't feeling 100 percent. So we made the switch,” Cassidy said. “Other than that, he's getting his tests.”

Erik Gudbranson and Carson Meyer scored, and Daniil Tarasov made 43 saves for Columbus (23-36-12), which has lost four in a row (0-3-1), including a 6-1 loss at the Colorado Avalanche on Friday. 

“One thing I would say is the team looked tired,” Blue Jackets coach Pascal Vincent said. “When the body gets tired, the brains shuts down. I saw a lot of mistakes. We were second on loose pucks. We weren’t protecting the middle of the ice in the [defensive] zone. We were getting better at that, but today in the second period, we didn’t take care of that. Part of that is Vegas turned the heat up a little bit more.”

Gudbranson gave the Blue Jackets a 1-0 lead at 4:32 of the first period when his shot from the right point went off Hill with bodies in front.

The Golden Knights then scored four consecutive goals.

“They turned their game up and we didn’t follow suit,” Gudbranson said. “That first period, we should have stuck with that game plan and use our speed. It’s really hard to play against you when guys are flying at you all night long. We stepped away from that and that’s how the game ended.”

Barbashev tied it 1-1 at 3:31 of the second period when he put in his own rebound from the high slot.

Eichel put Vegas in front 2-1 at 4:57 with a one-timer at the bottom of the left circle on the rebound of Zach Whitecloud’s shot.

“If you're on net, at least, you're forced to make a save and they have to recover the puck vs. us or take a penalty,” Cassidy said. “That’s what we did better.”

Dorofeyev pushed it to 3-1 at 3:03 of the third after puck-handling around Tarasov at the top of the crease.

Eichel made it 4-1 with a power-play goal at 17:18 before Meyer scored at 19:48 for the 4-2 final.

“The playoffs aren't too far away, so we want to get on a roll here,” Vegas defenseman Ben Hutton said. “We want to make sure we're all feeling good about our game in making the playoffs, so that's the key.”

NOTE: Eichel’s first goal was his 500th NHL point in his 527th game. Four active United States-born players have reached the milestone faster: Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews (445 games), Florida Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk (520), Detroit Red Wings forward Patrick Kane (523) and Blue Jackets forward Johnny Gaudreau (524). Eichel has 501 points (204 goals, 297 assists).