Golden Knights defeat Rangers for seventh straight win

LAS VEGAS --The Vegas Golden Knights defeated the New York Rangers 4-2 at T-Mobile Arena on Tuesday for their seventh straight win.

The Golden Knights (27-15-4) are one win from tying their record of eight straight victories, set from Dec. 14, 2017-Jan. 2, 2018.
Cody Eakin, Brandon Pirri, Jonathan Marchessault and Ryan Carpenter scored for Vegas, which extended its point streak to 10 games (8-0-2) and its point streak at home to 12 (10-0-2). Marc-Andre Fleury made 27 saves for his NHL-leading 25th win.
WATCH: [All Rangers vs. Golden Knights highlights]
"I thought we played good," Fleury said. "We had the puck a lot, we didn't give them too much [space]. Everyone kept playing simple and we didn't give them too much."
Mika Zibanejad and Jesper Fast scored for the Rangers (17-18-7), who have been outscored 22-5 in a four-game losing streak. Alexandar Georgiev made 27 saves.
"We definitely played the style we wanted to play," New York coach David Quinn said. "I thought there was a lot more pace to our game. I thought we were more competitive. I thought we did a better job getting to the net. I thought we played 60 minutes. We didn't quit. We want to win hockey games, and there's no silver lining."
Eakin scored on a breakaway at 16:02 of the first period to give the Golden Knights a 1-0 lead. It was his second goal in five games.

Alex Tuch extended his point streak to seven games (two goals, six assists) with an assist on Eakin's goal.
Vegas made it 2-0 and got its first power-play goal in 18 opportunities when Pirri scored at 7:06 of the second period. It was his seventh goal in eight games this season.
Pirri was recalled from Chicago of the American Hockey League on Monday to take the place of forward William Carrier (illness), who was put on injured reserve. Pirri played on the second line with center Paul Stastny and Tuch.
"I believe in my abilities, and playing with two fantastic hockey players like that makes my life easy," Pirri said. "Whether I'm here or there, I believe in myself and I want to show everyone what I can do."
Marchessault ended a seven-game goal drought when he scored unassisted on a breakaway with 1:07 left in the second period to make it 3-0.

Zibanejad made it 3-1 at 11:43 of the third period, but Carpenter scored an empty-net goal with 1:20 remaining to make it 4-1.
Fast scored with 23 seconds left for the 4-2 final score.
"When we play our game, we're forechecking well and not giving them time and space," Pirri said. "We break pucks out of our zone easy. It's something we try to do, and I think there are breakdowns here and there, but for the most part, we played pretty well."

They said it

"Any time you play a rival it certainly gives you more juice. We're certainly focusing on the fact that we've got to get out of this rut we're in. I thought we took a step forward tonight. Not the result we wanted, but I thought our play was geared in the right direction, and we've just got to build off that." -- Rangers coach David Quinn on their play heading into their game against the New York Islanders on Thursday
"The way we play together, people always said last year, 'You need time to play with these players to get chemistry.' It's true, but we're better (this season). We play the right way, we play to each other's strength, and we're confident." -- Golden Knights forward Jonathan Marchessault on comparisons to their 2017-18 team

Need to know

Rangers forward Chris Kreider had an assist on Zibanejad's goal for his first point in four games. He has nine points (five goals, four assists) in the past nine games. … Golden Knights forward Max Pacioretty, who had been playing on the second line, was moved up to the first line with center William Karlsson and Marchessault. He had an assist on Pirri's goal and has had a point in all three games since returning to the lineup after missing seven games with an undisclosed injury.

What's next

Rangers: Host the New York Islanders on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; MSG, MSG+ 2, NHL.TV)
Golden Knights: Host the San Jose Sharks on Thursday (10 p.m. ET; ESPN+, ATTSN-RM, NBCSCA, NHL.TV)