Carrier late goal lifts Golden Knights past Sharks for 4th straight win

LAS VEGAS -- William Carrier scored with 18 seconds left in the third period to give the Vegas Golden Knights a 2-1 victory against the San Jose Sharks at T-Mobile Arena on Thursday.

Chandler Stephenson played a shot off the end boards from the left face-off circle to a wide-open Carrier in front. Seven of Carrier's 15 goals this season have been game-winners.
"I'm having a good year, obviously. I score when it's clutch," Carrier said. "I'll take that, obviously. I like playing with 'Stevie.' I'm getting those [goals]. We're screening and getting those shots. We're rolling right now."
Paul Cotter scored for the third straight game, and Adin Hill made 25 saves for Vegas (33-18-4), which has won four in a row.
"It's not easy to win in this league. We talked about being comfortable in low-scoring games," Golden Knights coach Bruce Cassidy said. "We gave up not very much, so that shows me we were defending well. Offensively, we created some looks we didn't finish on. … We stuck with it. You come back in the third period to win a hockey game. That's not easy to do in the League either.
"I'm happy we came out on the right side of it because I look at the big picture, we were the better team."

Kaapo Kahkonen made 36 saves, and Alexander Barabanov scored for San Jose (17-28-11).
"Our goalie was outstanding tonight. I thought it was his best game of the year," Sharks coach David Quinn said. "I'm just really disappointed we couldn't finish it off in the last 17 seconds."
Vegas leads the NHL with nine third-period comeback wins this season.
"We have a confidence in ourselves going into the third," Golden Knights forward Jack Eichel said. "If we're down a goal or if the game's tied, we feel comfortable to find ways to win. You saw that tonight. You've seen in the past a few times. I would love it if we were going into the third with a lead more often and not chasing games, but it's good to see we're finding ways to win and come from behind."
Barabanov gave San Jose a 1-0 lead at 17:04 of the second period, putting in a rebound off of a Marc-Edouard Vlasic shot from the left point. He has a point in six of his past seven games (four goals, two assists).
"He's a really smart player," Quinn said of Barbanov. "He's strong on his skates for a small guy (5-foot-10, 195 pounds). He makes real good decisions with the puck. … He generates a lot of offense. When the puck's on his stick, good things usually happen."
Cotter tied it 1-1 at 6:22 of the third period. He kept the puck on a 2-on-1 with Jonathan Marchessault, shooting it past Kahkonen from the right circle. He had an opportunity on a 2-on-1 breakaway at 3:33 of the third, but Kahkonen managed to get to his near post to stop the shot.
"He has a breakaway earlier by getting available. He made a nice move. The guy made a save. [Next] time, he decided to rip it, it just worked out for us," Cassidy said. "It was a big goal. He's more of the guy who will shoot it. It shows in his numbers. You need some of those guys. I'm glad he shot it tonight. He does have a good shot. He has the ability to beat the goaltender."

The Golden Knights went 0-for-7 on the power play, tying their team record. They went 0-for-7 in their first game on Oct. 6, 2017, against the Dallas Stars.
"There were some times we were able to generate some momentum," Eichel said. "When you go 0-for7, it's not very good. So, that's something we probably have to address and we need to figure it out."
Vegas outshot San Jose 14-4 in the first period.
"It was a good win by us. I thought we found a way to get it done. That's what matters," Eichel said. "Their goalie made some big saves. They played hard and didn't give us a ton. We generated a ton by ourselves. Give them credit, it was a tight game. … Good to find a way to win."
NOTES: Carrier's seven game-winning goals are tied with Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers and Brayden Point of the Tampa Bay Lightning for third in the NHL. Leon Draisaitl of the Oilers leads with nine. Carrier is one game-winning goal from tying the Vegas record set by Mark Stone in 2020-21. … Eichel has five points in four games (two goals, three assists).