NASHVILLE -- The Golden Knights [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/vegas-golden-knights] extended their win streak to six games by closing out their three-game road trip with a 3-1 win [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/nashville-predators/game-day/nashville-predators-vs-vegas-golden-knights-live-game-thread] over the Nashville Predators [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/nashville-predators]. Reilly Smith scored his 11th goal of the season, and first since returning to the Golden Knights [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/nashville-predators] just before the trade deadline, to break a 1-1 tie 6:25 into the third period. "It's definitely nice to be able to help the team win, and a little bit of relief just to see it go in," Smith said. "I feel like I've gotten a lot of opportunities over the last few games and just hitting something and not going in. Sometimes your worst opportunities are the ones that go in and just find it fortunate it bounces in the crease. At the end of the day that it's a big win for us and a really good road trip." Smith's goal was the team's 52nd power-play goal of the season, tying a franchise record. Jack Eichel scored his 27th goal while Brett Howden celebrated his 27th birthday with his 22nd goal of the campaign. Adin Hill made a spot start and made 23 saves for the Knights, one night after making 18 saves in a 5-3 win at Chicago. Vegas now has 98 points with nine games left on the schedule, nine points ahead of the second-place Los Angeles Kings in the Pacific Division. Ryan O'Reilly scored Nashville's lone goal while Justus Annunen made 27 stops for the Predators, who were eliminated from the playoffs last week. Here are three takeaways from the game: ON THE SPOT: Hill wasn't scheduled to start in Nashville, after playing the night before, but after taking warm-ups, coach Bruce Cassidy said Ilya Samsonov wasn't able to go. "Sammy just wasn't able to go," he said. "Something tightened up. So that was that. It was not going to be Hilly. We tend not to play a guy back to back, especially this time of year. But that was the choice we were left with, and good on him. Cassidy added he had "no idea ... because it's something we expected to play right up until 5:10, or something. So hopefully not. Once we get back, it'll be re-evaluated." COMING TOGETHER: Vegas' third line of Smith, William Karlsson and Victor Olofsson continues to build chemistry. Smith's goal came on the heels of Olofsson's two he scored in Chicago on Friday. With Smith and Karlsson's built-in chemistry after playing together in Vegas from 2017-2023, and now Olofsson a part of the line, the trio becomes an integral combination in the bottom six. "I think the last two games is a testament of us trying to work with each other more and trying to create more on the rush and in zone," Smith said. "I think our reads have been better over the last two games. We're playing a little bit quicker, a little bit more in sync, and we're getting more opportunities because of it." PLAYOFF READY: With just nine games remaining and the Golden Knights playing well, Cassidy wasn't ready to concede that his team is in playoff form... yet. "You never want to get ahead of yourself, but I said last week, I thought we're trending really well, so we're certainly closer to the top of the scale than the bottom, especially our overall game," Cassidy said. "We're not only winning because we're scoring. It's not one thing, it's not one line, it's not one special team. It's, I think, a little bit of everything."
