LAS VEGAS -- Mitch Marner registered the fourth hat trick of his career and the Golden Knights improved to 2-0 under coach John Tortorella after coming from behind to defeat the Calgary Flames 6-3 on Thursday night.
Vegas two-game win streak comes at a perfect time, as the team will embark on its final road trip of the season, a four-game trek that begins in Edmonton on Saturday.
The Oilers and Anaheim Ducks lead the Pacific Division with 87 points, while the Knights sit third with 84. The Ducks have a game in hand on the Oilers and Knights.
Pavel Dorofeyev, Brett Howden and Ivan Barbashev also scored for the Knights, while Carter Hart made 19 saves in his first appearance since Jan. 8.
The Golden Knights hit the road on a four-game point streak.
KEY MOMENT
Though it would be easy to pinpoint Howden's game-winning goal with 7:40 left in the game, the key moment goes to Hart, who made a key stop on Blake Coleman, who had two goals for the Flames. He could have had three, but Hart stymied the left wing during a short-handed odd-man rush with 11:31 left in the game. Marner showed off his defensive skills there, too, as he batted the puck from the air off the rebound from Hart's save to help keep the game tied at 3-all.
KEY STAT
+3 ... The Hockey News colleague Hannah Kirkell makes an excellent point that the number of 2-on-1 situations Vegas gave Calgary could easily be the key stat. Unfortunately, the eye test doesn't give us an official stat for that. Instead, the +3 goal differential in the third period for the Knights was the difference, as they continued their domination in the final period. For the season, Vegas has outscored teams, 97-57.
WHAT A KNIGHT
Marner had his hand in five of the team's six goals, scoring three of them and assisting on two others. Tortorella said he planned on shaking things up with his forward lines, most notably moving Marner around in the lineup, including a potential top line of Jack Eichel, Mark Stone and Marner. For Thursday, Marner centered wingers Barbashev and Stone, a line that produced nine points (4 goals, 5 assists).
UP NEXT
The Golden Knights open a four-game road trip on Saturday, when they'll visit their Pacific Division rival, the Edmonton Oilers.
PHOTO CAPTION: Vegas Golden Knights right wing Mitch Marner (93) celebrates after scoring his third goal of the game against the Calgary Flames during the third period at T-Mobile Arena.