Howden scores twice, Golden Knights edge Jets

LAS VEGAS -- Brett Howden scored twice, including the go-ahead goal at 15:55 of the third period, for the Vegas Golden Knights in a 4-3 victory against the Winnipeg Jets at T-Mobile Arena on Friday.

Howden tapped in a backhand, backdoor pass from William Karlsson at the left post.

“I had the easy job of just trying to find the open ice, just trying to find a quiet area,” Howden said. “[Alexander Holtz] did a good job of going through to the net. He took two or three guys with him, so it kind of left me open, and then [Karlsson is] the one that makes the play. So, it was pretty easy for me to just put it into an empty net. It was a really good play by them.”

Ivan Barbashev also scored twice, and Jack Eichel and Pavel Dorofeyev each had two assists for Vegas (15-6-3), which is 4-0-1 in its past five games. Adin Hill made 22 saves.

“I liked our energy. I thought we played really well for the game, which, sometimes, you do expect the worst,” Golden Knights coach Bruce Cassidy said. ”But you just know there's going to be a bit of a hurdle there (after Thanksgiving), but our guys obviously balanced their taking care of business at home and taking care of business at the rink.”

Cole Perfetti had two goals, Neal Pionk also scored, and Eric Comrie made 26 saves for Winnipeg (18-6-0), which has lost two straight and is 3-5-0 since starting the season 15-1-0.

“There were a few things we want to clean up in the zone, off the rush. A couple of reads,” Perfetti said. “We worked hard, we battled. The effort was definitely there. It’s been a grind of a road trip. We knew it was going to be a hard game. ... It was a good effort all around.”

Perfetti gave the Jets a 1-0 lead at 6:57 of the first period when he redirected Josh Morrissey's shot from the left circle over Hill's glove.

“It felt really good to score,” said Perfetti, who ended an 11-game goal drought. “I just went to the net and it just hit my stick. That’s what I figured it would be like after the drought it was. I figured it would be a greasy one, and it was.”

Howden tied the game 1-1 at 18:13. He intercepted an errant pass from Morgan Barron in the defensive zone, skated in on a breakaway, and slid the puck underneath Comrie’s outstretched right pad.

“I felt like I had a step on [Jets defenseman Logan Stanley], so I just tried to keep going and take it to the net,” Howden said.

Barbashev gave the Golden Knights a 2-1 lead at 19:44 of the first, scoring on the rebound of Dorofeyev's shot while falling down.

Perfetti's second of the game tied it 2-2 at 14:28 of the second period. Hill made a save on Morrissey with his right pad, but the rebound went right to Perfetti, who shot past the goalie's outstretched blocker from the left circle.

Barbashev put Vegas back in front 3-2 at 4:43 of the third period, scoring blocker side from the high slot.

“I feel like we had a lot of energy today,” Barbashev said. “We still let them back in the game a few times today, but overall, I think we stuck with it and got a huge two points.”

Pionk tied the game 3-3 at 8:55, roofing a shot from the point through traffic.

“Our compete and battle was really good,” Winnipeg coach Scott Arniel said. “Lots of stretches there where we hemmed them in their end of the rink. We had some really good opportunities. We got down and came back.”

NOTES: Karlsson played in his 700th NHL game. He had an assist, went 11-for-13 on face-offs, and was plus-2 in 19:20 of ice time. ... Howden has 10 goals this season, an NHL career high. He scored eight goals in 72 games last season. ... Barbashev extended his point streak to five games (four goals, six assists). ... The Golden Knights have won seven straight against the Jets.