Golden Knights top Canadiens, match record with 22nd home win

LAS VEGAS -- The Vegas Golden Knights defeated the Montreal Canadiens 6-3 at T-Mobile Arena on Saturday for their 22nd home win, tying the record for a team in its inaugural NHL season.

Reilly Smith had two goals and an assist, and Jonathan Marchessault had three assists for the Golden Knights, who needed 28 games to match the record set by the 1979-80 Hartford Whalers in 40 games.
"We like to take that advantage," Smith said. "Our fans are great and we feed off them."
WATCH: [All Canadiens vs. Golden Knights highlights]
Ryan Carpenter and Nate Schmidt each had a goal and an assist for Vegas (39-15-4), which leads the NHL with 82 points, five more than the Nashville Predators and Winnipeg Jets for first place in the Western Conference. Marc-Andre Fleury made 30 saves.

Charles Hudon, Nikita Scherbak and Jonathan Drouin scored for the Canadiens (22-29-7), who have lost five straight games (0-4-1) and eight of 10 (2-7-1).
"It's always tough when you lose," said Scherbak, whose goal was his second in the NHL, first in nine games this season. "We're trying to stick together. We have a great group of guys here, everybody supports each other, and nobody is happy to lose."
Antti Niemi started for Montreal but was pulled after allowing three goals on six shots in 9:51.
Carey Price made 25 saves in relief. It was his 551st NHL game, tying Patrick Roy for second in Canadiens history behind Jacques Plante (556).
The Golden Knights and Canadiens combined for five goals in the first period.

Smith scored on the power play at 2:16 of the first period to give Vegas a 1-0 lead. Hudon beat Fleury at 4:32 to tie it 1-1. Defenseman Brad Hunt scored for the second time in three games at 6:50 for a 2-1 Golden Knights lead, and Tomas Nosek scored at 9:51 to make it 3-1.
Scherbak scored at 11:47 to make it 3-2.
"We didn't want to play an up-and-down style [in the first period]. I don't think we played a tight game overall," Smith said. "Just a little bit too loose. We've got to work on a couple of things."
Carpenter scored for the fifth time in seven games at 3:07 of the second period for a 4-2 Vegas lead, and Smith scored his second of the night 39 seconds later to make it 5-2 at 3:46.
"It's so cool when those guys get involved in our scoring," Schmidt said of Carpenter and Nosek. "They're eating a lot of shots on the [penalty kill] and have to play the tough matchups. It's cool to see those guys get rewarded like that."
Schmidt beat Price at 4:02 of the third period to make it 6-2. Drouin scored on the power play at 8:44 to make it 6-3.

"I think it was probably the most complete [team effort] on both sides," Schmidt said. "I was really happy how we moved the puck as a defensive corps."

Goal of the game

Smith's goal at 2:16 of the first period.

Save of the game

Fleury's glove save on Hudon at 2:06 of the third period.

Highlight of the game

Scherbak's goal at 11:47 of the first period.

They said it

"The second period was definitely very bad from us and we played a lot in our own end, but I thought -- you know, I know the score after the first -- but I thought for the most part we were battling and creating chances in the first and third. ... We play with pride, so it is frustrating, and I think at this point in this position everyone should be selfish right now and kind of worry about your own game and play the best you can because we're trying to play with pride right now." -- Canadiens captain Max Pacioretty
"I thought the first period was a fast game for both teams. We really played well in the second and took the game over. I thought we were in control of the game for most of the night." -- Golden Knights coach Gerard Gallant

Need to know

It was Carpenter's first game-winning goal in the NHL. ... Vegas forward Pierre-Edouard Bellemare left the game at 6:02 of the first period with a left-hand injury. He played two more shifts but did not return after leaving at 2:44 of the second. ... Golden Knights defenseman Luca Sbisa played his first game since he had hand surgery Jan. 10, replacing defenseman Shea Theodore (flu) in the lineup. He had an assist, a plus-2 rating, one shot on goal, three hits and two blocked shots in 20:58. ... Drouin's power-play goal was his second of the season, first since Nov. 27, after he had nine in 73 games for the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2016-17.

What's next

Canadiens: At the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; NBCSP, TSN2, RDS, NHL.TV)
Golden Knights: Host the Anaheim Ducks on Monday (10 p.m. ET; ATTSN-RM, PRIME, NHL.TV)