Golden Knights rout Predators 7-2 for their 7th straight victory

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LAS VEGAS (AP) — Alexander Holtz and Shea Theodore scored in a 1:05 span late in the second period and the Vegas Golden Knights had two more two-goal sprees to rout the Nashville Predators 7-1 on Saturday night for their seventh straight victory.

Pavel Dorofeyev and captain Mark Stone added goals in a three-minute span in the third, with Dorofeyev scoring his 20th of the season and Stone getting his 10th goal in 11 games and 18th of the season. Stone has a career-best 11-game points streak.

Cole Reinhardt and Mitch Marner scored two more goals in quick succession, striking in a 50-second span, and Keegan Kolesar capped the five-goal third. Akira Schmid made 26 saves.

Luke Evangelista and Filip Forsberg scored for Nashville, and Justus Annunen stopped 29 shots. The Predators had won three straight, the last a 7-3 victory at Colorado on Friday night

Holtz tied it at 1 with 2:43 left in the second period. Off Theodore's feed, Holtz one-timed a slap shot that deflected off Nashville’s Fedor Svechkov. Theodore — playing his 600th NHL game — scored on Vegas’ next shot, firing a snapper through a crowd with 1:38 to go.

Dorofeyev scored on a break off a pass from Mitch Marner at 5:52. Stone scored on another break at 8:52, with Eichel setting it up. Reinhardt struck with 7:34 to go, Marner with 6:44 left, and Kolesar with 4:48 remaining.

Forsberg scored on a power play for Nashville in the final minute. Evangelista opened the scoring with 5:50 left in the first period.

Jonathan Marchessault, the Conn Smythe Trophy winner as the playoff MVP in Vegas’ 2023 championship, was activated by Nashville on Saturday after missing 14 games because of a lower-body injury. He’s in his second season with the Predators after seven with Vegas.

Predators: Host Buffalo on Tuesday night.

Golden Knights: Host Philadelphia on Monday night.

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