Golden Knights extend point streak to 11 in win against Jets

LAS VEGAS -- Jonathan Marchessault had a hat trick, and the Vegas Golden Knights extended their season-opening point streak to 11 games with a 5-2 win against the Winnipeg Jets at T-Mobile Arena on Thursday.

William Karlsson and Ivan Barbashev each had a goal and an assist, and Logan Thompson made 29 saves for Vegas (10-0-1).

“We've been fighting as of late, sneaking away with two points [the] last couple of games,” Thompson said. “So, I think tonight was a team effort, the power play was great and the [penalty kill] did a [heck] of a job and we pulled out two points.”

Kyle Connor and Alex Iafallo each had a goal and an assist for Winnipeg (4-4-2). Connor Hellebuyck made 21 saves.

"We got real sloppy there for the last 10 minutes for that second period,” Jets associate coach Scott Arniel said. “We got ourselves going again in the third, got some good shifts. We scored that power-play goal, made it 3-2. We're hoping to make it a little bit better, and then another tough one."

Karlsson gave the Golden Knights a 1-0 lead at 10:45 of the first period, roofing a pass from Pavel Dorofeyev past Hellebuyck on the rush. It was Karlsson’s eighth consecutive game with a point.

“‘Karly,’ from Day One here, has been excellent,” Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy said. “His legs are really under him.”

Connor tied it 1-1 at 6;17 of the second period, skating around Brayden McNabb and finishing a backhand.

Marchessault gave Vegas a 2-1 lead on a power play at 7:00. After Jets forward Mason Appleton was given a double-minor for high-sticking Golden Knights defenseman Alec Martinez, Mark Stone found Marchessault skating down the slot, where the latter scored with a wrist shot.

The play started when Thompson found Stone on a stretch pass.

“I was pretty shocked that he brought that out because he doesn't do it often; he normally stays in his blue paint,” Marchessault said of Thompson. “It was a great heads-up play. He saw all four guys leaving and ‘Stoney’ was ready, and I was just filling lanes there in the middle and I got lucky.”

Barbashev made it 3-1 at 8:38 on the power play, finishing a rebound of a shot from Alex Pietrangelo

Iafallo cut it to 3-2 when he scored on a redirection from Cole Perfetti for a power-play goal at 1:51 of the third period.

“We’re just trying to get that first one to get our confidence going,” Iafallo said. “We’re trying to get the power play going and get momentum for the team. We have to keep doing that.”

Marchessault made it 4-2 at 5:47 with a wrist shot from the slot and completed the hat trick at 17:08 with an empty-net goal for the 5-2 final.

“Every night, somebody else is stepping in,” Marchessault said. “That's the mentality we had last year, and it was good to feel that I could help my teammates tonight.”

NOTES: Vegas is the third team in the past 16 years to have a point streak of at least 11 games to start a season; the Florida Panthers had an 11-game streak in 2021-22, and the Chicago Blackhawks set an NHL record with a 24-game run in 2012-13. … Thompson has won each of his first five starts this season. … Golden Knights forward William Carrier did not play due to an illness; forward Jonas Rondbjerg was recalled from Henderson of the American Hockey League and had one shot on goal in 10:20 of ice time. … Marchessault extended his Vegas record with his 21st multigoal game. … Jets forward Nino Niederreiter had eight shots on goal in 15:41.