The Carolina Hurricanes came off an extended layoff and executed when it mattered most for a 5-2 victory against the visiting Vegas Golden Knights on Friday night in Raleigh, N.C.

Nino Niederreiter, Brett Pesce, Jordan Martinook, Sebastian Aho and Justin Faulk scored for the Hurricanes. Justin Williams provided two assists.

Shea Theodore scored both goals for Vegas.

Both teams were playing for the first time since the All-Star break.

The Hurricanes picked up where they left off after a 2-0-1 stretch prior to the break. The Golden Knights have dropped three straight games and five of their last seven.

Carolina goalie Petr Mrazek made 23 saves. He improved his record to 11-10-3 this season, tying for the team lead in victories with Curtis McElhinney.

Vegas goalie Maxime Lagace, who was making his season debut, stopped 27 shots. He appeared in 16 games last season for the Golden Knights.

Trailing 1-0, Niederreiter notched his fifth goal in five games since joining the Hurricanes in a January trade from the Minnesota Wild.

On that goal, Faulk passed Dave Babych for the most career points by a defenseman in franchise history. Faulk has 242 career points after an empty-net goal with 50 seconds to play.

Pesce's unassisted goal came before Theodore's second goal with 2:13 remaining in the second period

But less than a minute later, Martinook converted for his 11th goal of the season. That goal was set up by Brock McGinn's pass through the slot. Martinook was playing in his first game since signing a two-year contract extension during the break.

Aho, fresh off his first All-Star Game experience, made it 4-2 less than four minutes into the third period on a nifty back-handed shot as he burst down the right side.

The Hurricanes ended up 0-for-3 on power plays. This was their first home game since Jan. 18.

Vegas won 3-0 against Carolina on Nov. 3 with goalie Marc-Andre Fleury delivering a shutout.

--Field Level Media