LAS VEGAS — William Carrier pointed his gloves at Chandler Stephenson.
The Golden Knights were bottled up most of Thursday’s game with the San Jose Sharks. They squandered plenty of chances. When they didn’t, goaltender Kappo Kahkonen was there to make one of his 36 saves.
But one moment of brilliance erased any chance of heartbreak for the Knights.
Stephenson gathered a rebound from a Shea Theodore shot and fed Carrier across the offensive zone with time ticking down at T-Mobile Arena. Carrier slammed the puck into the back of the net with 17.2 seconds remaining to deliver a dramatic 2-1 victory for the Knights, their fourth straight since the All-Star break.
The win kept them in first place in the Pacific Division and improved their all-time record against the rival Sharks to 20-2-4.
Carrier’s career-high 15th goal prevented what could have been a frustrating result for the Knights (33-18-4).
They trailed 1-0 on a goal from right wing Alexander Barabanov after two periods despite having a 22-13 advantage on the shot clock. San Jose (17-28-11) gave the Knights opportunities to take control, but they couldn’t take advantage.
The Knights received seven power-play opportunities for the third time ever but finished 0-for-7. The only other game the team finished 0-for-7 was Oct. 6, 2017, the first game in franchise history.
The Knights still found a way to tie the game when left wing Paul Cotter scored on a two-on-one with right wing Jonathan Marchessault 6:22 into the third period.
The sides seemed destined for overtime from there. Kahkonen and Knights goaltender Adin Hill played well, turning away great look after great look.
Stephenson finally created an opportunity Kahkonen couldn’t stop. And a second goal was enough for the Knights to win because they held their opponent to two goals or fewer for the fifth consecutive game.
Here are three takeaways from the win:
1. Hill’s game
Hill made one mistake against his former team, but otherwise continued his strong play.
Hill failed to free defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic’s shot from the point from 62 feet away late in the second period. That left a juicy rebound for Barabanov to grab with 2:56 remaining.
Hill was otherwise solid in his third start in four games. He made 26 stops to raise his save percentage to .930 in his past nine appearances.
He’s holding his own with goaltender Logan Thompson week to week with a lower-body injury.
2. Cotter stays hot
Cotter’s goal gave him the first three-game goal streak of his career.
The rookie has 11 goals in 37 games with the Knights, putting him on pace for 24 over the course of a full season. He’s impressed enough that he’s earned time on the top line with center Jack Eichel and right wing Jonathan Marchessault.
Eichel assisted Cotter’s goal, pushing his point streak to three games.
3. Power-play struggles
The result shouldn’t obscure the fact that the Knights need to come up with answers on the man advantage.
They’re 1-for-28 in their past 12 games. That ranks 32nd in the NHL during that span. The cold streak started after captain Mark Stone was injured Jan. 12 against the Florida Panthers.
