Golden Knights explode for 5 goals in 2nd period, crush Canadiens 6-2

Jack Eichel and Ivan Barbashev each had a goal and two assists and the visiting Vegas Golden Knights tied a franchise record by scoring five goals in the second period en route to a 6-2 victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night.

Callahan Burke scored his first NHL goal and Tomas Hertl, Tanner Pearson and Keegan Kolesar also scored for Vegas, which leapfrogged Calgary, a 4-3 shootout winner over Minnesota earlier Saturday, back into first place in the Pacific Division with the win.

Noah Hanifin and Shea Theodore added two assists apiece and Adin Hill finished with 15 saves as the Golden Knights won their second straight game.

Emil Heineman and Jayden Struble scored goals and Brendan Gallagher had two assists for Montreal, which had won three of its past four games. Samuel Montembeault stopped 20 of 25 shots before giving way to Cayden Primeau at the start of the third period. Primeau finished with two saves for the Canadiens, who dropped their seventh straight game against Vegas, including four in a row at the Bell Centre.

Following a tight-checking, scoreless opening period, Vegas exploded for five goals in less than 13 minutes to tie the team mark for most goals in a frame, accomplished two other times.

Hertl started the scoring at the 4:39 mark with a one-timer into an open right side of the net off a Brayden McNabb crossing pass for his eighth goal.

Burke, a 27-year-old former captain at Notre Dame, made it 2-0 with a one-timer from the top of the slot past Montembeault's blocker side for his first goal in six career NHL games.

Barbashev followed with his ninth goal of the season 49 seconds later, finishing a 2-on-1 rush with Eichel with a tap-in into an open net. Pearson scored with his fourth goal with a blast past Montembeault's blocker side, the fourth goal in a span of 5:56 for the Golden Knights. Kolesar made it 5-0 near the end of the period when he knocked in a feed from Zach Whitecloud.

Heineman cut it to 5-1 at the 2:02 mark of the third period with a power-play goal, one-timing a Joel Armia pass from the right circle. Struble roofed a Gallagher pass at 13:03 to close the deficit to three goals before Eichel finished the scoring with 1:48 remaining with his seventh goal.

--Field Level Media