SUNDAY AROUND THE NHL

Golden Knights 5, Hurricanes 1

RALEIGH, N.C.

James Neal and Jonathan Marchessault scored to help the Vegas Golden Knights beat the Carolina Hurricanes, giving the expansion franchise the best record in the NHL. The Golden Knights are 31-11-4, good for 66 points. That’s one ahead of Tampa Bay, which had the night off. Colin Miller had a goal and two assists, and Marc-Andre Fleury made 27 saves for Vegas. The Golden Knights finished 2-1-1 on this road trip, including a 4-1 win Thursday at the Lightning. Pierre-Edouard Bellemare and Brendan Leipsic also scored for Vegas, which avenged a 3-2 shootout loss to Carolina in December. Neal got his 21st goal of the season, and Marchessault had his 17th. Jaccob Slavin scored for the Hurricanes late in the first period on a power play. Goalie Scott Darling was lifted after allowing three goals on eight shots in the first. Bellemare scored less than three minutes in, setting the tone. He took a nifty back pass from William Carrier, who drew two skaters and the attention of Darling. Bellemare put the puck through Darling’s legs for his fifth goal. Miller and Marchessault scored 39 seconds apart in the first, leading Carolina coach Bill Peters to call his team’s timeout. He then signaled for Cam Ward to replace Darling.

Neal scored on a second-period power play, giving him at least 21 goals in 10 consecutive seasons. He gathered the rebound of Brad Hunt’s shot and poked the puck past Ward. Carolina, which has lost five of seven, is last in the tight Metropolitan Division.

Flyers 2, Capitals 1

WASHINGTON

Travis Konecny scored 27 seconds into overtime, and the surging Philadelphia Flyers beat the Washington Capitals. Konecny found space in the middle of the offensive zone and his shot deflected off Washington’s T.J. Oshie and past Braden Holtby for his eighth of the season. Michael Raffl also scored for Philadelphia, and Brian Elliott had 27 saves. The Flyers have won three in a row and seven of eight to move into playoff position in the Eastern Conference. Washington has dropped three in a row. Alex Ovechkin scored his NHL-best 29th goal, and Holtby made 21 stops. Both teams scored in the second period. Working from behind Washington’s net, Valtteri Filppula sent a deft pass to Raffl, whose shot from the left slot bounced off Holtby and into the net at 13:48 of the second period. Raffl’s ninth goal in his last 26 games topped his total from last season. The left wing did not score a goal in his first 21 games. The Capitals tied it on Ovechkin’s power-play goal with 15.8 seconds left.

Associated Press