VAN-VGK

LAS VEGAS -- The Vegas Golden Knights defeated the Vancouver Canucks 6-3 at T-Mobile Arena on Friday to give them the best record in the NHL.
William Karlsson scored twice, and Reilly Smith had an NHL career-high three assists to help Vegas (41-16-4) surpass the idle Tampa Bay Lightning (41-17-3).

WATCH: [All Canucks vs. Golden Knights highlights]
Karlsson scored his 32nd and 33rd goals of the season, third most in the League behind Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals (36) and Evgeni Malkin of the Pittsburgh Penguins (34).
"You always want to finish a road trip or a homestand with a win," Karlsson said, referring to Vegas going 5-2-0 in its seven-game homestand. "I'm glad we did it. I think we played good for most of the game. Hopefully we can bring that on the road."

Tomas Hyka scored his first NHL goal, and Jonathan Marchessault, Tomas Nosek and David Perron also scored for the Golden Knights, who won for the ninth time in 13 games (9-4-0). Marc-Andre Fleury made 30 saves in his 10th consecutive start (7-3-0).
Vegas has scored at least four goals in eight of its past 10 games
Sven Baertschi, Thomas Vanek and Daniel Sedin scored for the Canucks (23-31-7), who have lost eight of their past 10 games (2-7-1). Vancouver trails the St. Louis Blues by 19 points for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference.
"These guys can score. They have good offensive skill up front. We knew it was going to be a back-and-forth game," Sedin said. "I thought we played good in the first, good in the third, but in the second it got away from us."
Hyka scored at 2:29 of the first period to give the Golden Knights a 1-0 lead.
Baertschi (11:30) and Vanek (13:48) scored in a span of 2:18 to give the Canucks a 2-1 lead before Karlsson tied it 2-2 at 14:39.
"We kind of lucked out after the first, being 2-2," Perron said. "I thought they were outplaying us. We respected them too much and that's something we can't do."
Vegas scored three straight goals in the second period.
Karlsson's second of the game, at 5:36, made it 3-2. Marchessault pushed the lead to 4-2 at 6:39 on the power play, and Nosek made it 5-2 at 18:58.
"We had an unbelievable second period," Golden Knights coach Gerard Gallant said. "I thought we dominated. Sometimes, when you get that 5-2 lead, sometimes you have a little letdown, which we did in the third period. But overall, it was very good."
Sedin scored a power-play goal at 4:28 of the third period to make it 5-3.
Perron was credited with an empty-net goal at 18:09 when an errant Canucks pass went into the Vegas net for a 6-3 lead.
"They're a good team. Give them credit," Canucks coach Travis Green said. "They're in their building, they get on a roll. It's definitely frustrating. I'm not happy with the loss."

Goal of the game

Karlsson's goal at 5:36 of the second period.

Save of the game

Fleury's save on Brock Boeser at 9:14 of the first period.

Highlight of the game

Hyka's goal at 2:29 of the first period.

They said it

"I thought we lost half a step in our game. Our forecheck wasn't as good. I thought we had a great first period, but Fleury showed why he's one of the better goalies in the League." -- Canucks coach Travis Green
"I hate having seven-game homestands, to be honest with you, because you're going to have some ups and downs. Those homestands are a little too long for me. It's tough to keep your guys focused overall. But to go 5-2 in this homestand, I thought, for the most part, we played good hockey." -- Golden Knights coach Gerard Gallant

Need to know

Baertschi extended his point streak to four games (two goals, three assists). … The Golden Knights acquired forward Ryan Reaves and a fourth-round pick in the 2018 NHL Draft (from Vancouver) in a three-team trade involving the Penguins and Ottawa Senators prior to the game. … Vegas forward James Neal (illness) was placed on injured reserve Friday. He has missed the past three games. … Vegas defenseman Shea Theodore (illness) missed his fourth straight game. … Golden Knights forward Ryan Carpenter scored a point for the fifth time in six games (four goals, three assists).

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What's next

Canucks: At the Arizona Coyotes on Sunday (9:30 p.m. ET; FS-A, SNP, NHL.TV)
Golden Knights: At the Los Angeles Kings on Monday (10:30 p.m. ET; SN, FS-W, ATTSN-RM, NHL.TV)