Hours before The Las Vegas Strip was shut down for revelers, a standing room crowd of more than 18,000 watched William Karlsson score the first hat trick in Vegas history and add an assist to help the streaking Golden Knights beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-3 on Sunday. The Western Conference-leading Golden Knights have won seven straight and have earned points in 12 consecutive games, both NHL records for a first-year team. An NHL-best 11-1-1 in December, the Golden Knights are 16-2-1 at home and 26-9-2 overall. “Marchessault and Karlsson, they’re having great, solid years, they’re doing a great job for us,” Vegas coach Gerard Gallant said. “Obviously this streak is unbelievable, the guys are playing well, they’re playing great hockey every night, and they’re competing,” Gallant said.

Source: National Post December 31, 2017 23:29 UTC