Noah Hanifin scores late goal to lift Golden Knights past Nashville 5-3, and clinch Pacific

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Noah Hanifin scored the go-ahead goal with 1:55 to play and the Vegas Golden Knights went on to a 5-3 win over the Nashville Predators on Saturday that clinched their fourth Pacific Division title in the team’s eight-year history.

Brett Howden and Nicolas Roy had a goal and an assist each for the Golden Knights, Alexander Holtz scored on the power play and Ivan Barbashev added an empty-netter.

Adin Hill made 14 saves. It was the first time this season Vegas won a game in which Hill has allowed at least three goals, having lost the previous 14 in which he gave up at least three goals.

Jordan Oesterle, former Golden Knight Jonathan Marchessault, and Marc Del Gaizo scored for Nashville. Marchessault and Del Gaizo scored early in the third to tie the game at 3-3.

Justus Annunen had 24 saves for Nashville.

Takeaways

The loss ended the Predators modest two-game win streak, which came after a six-game losing streak.

Vegas, which has won four of its last five games, set a team record for most home points with 61 and tied the 2017-18 Cup Final team with 29 home wins, a franchise high.

Key moment

Hanifin scored on a slap shot with 1:55 left to put the Golden Knights up 4-3. He did not have a point in his previous seven games and had not scored a goal in 15 games before Saturday night.

Key stat

Shea Theodore had an assist on Roy’s goal to break the record for points in a single season by a Golden Knights defenseman with his 55th point of the year (seven goals, 48 assists). The Golden Knights outshot the Predators 29-17.

Up next

The Predators return home on Monday night to play the Utah Hockey Club.

The Golden Knights visit the Calgary Flames on Tuesday night.

___

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

___

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/NHL