Fast start helps Knights rout Seattle Kraken for 3-0 start

The Golden Knights seemed happy to see Martin Jones again.

The team got used to lighting the goaltender up when he played for the San Jose Sharks. Not much changed with the 32-year-old moving to the Seattle Kraken.

The Knights scored five goals on 24 shots on Jones through two periods to ruin the Kraken’s home opener Saturday with a 5-2 win at Climate Change Arena. It was a double dose of pain for Seattle sports with the Mariners’ season ending about 2 miles away with a 1-0 loss to Houston in 18 innings.

The win gave the Knights their third 3-0 start in six years. It also improved their record against the Kraken, the team given the exact same expansion blueprint as them when entering the NHL last season, to 5-0-0.

“I think it’s good for the guys to taste success early,” coach Bruce Cassidy said. “I think everyone’s chasing that early in the year. You don’t want to be behind.”

The Knights jumped on Jones right away.

Right wing Keegan Kolesar scored 12 seconds into the game off a feed from left wing William Carrier. It was the second-fastest Knights’ goal to open a game, after center William Karlsson scored in 10 seconds April 28, 2021, against Colorado.

Left wing Jonathan Marchessault made it 2-0 with a power-play goal 2:55 later. Jones seemed to settle in afterwards, even stopping a penalty shot from center Chandler Stephenson 4:37 into the second period.

Then the Knights exploded. They scored three times in 5:48 before the second intermission to chase Jones from the game. It was the fifth time the goaltender was pulled in 13 regular-season meetings with the Knights, in addition to the four times he left their 13 playoff matchups early.

Jones’ counterpart, Adin Hill, looked far more comfortable in the opposite net. The 26-year-old made 31 saves in his Knights debut to help his new team start 2-0 on the road for the first time since its inaugural year.

“I felt pretty good,” Hill said. “It’s nice when your team scores 12 seconds into the game. Settles the nerves a bit.”

Here are three takeaways from the win:

1. Hill’s debut

Hill only made one appearance after Jan. 22 last season because of a lower-body injury.

If he was rusty, it didn’t show.

Hill didn’t give up a goal to Seattle until there was 6:41 left in the third period. That ended the Knights’ shutout streak at 120:21 after Thompson blanked Chicago on Thursday.

It was a strong first impression for Hill, who was brought in for goaltending depth in an August trade with San Jose with Robin Lehner out for the season (hip surgery). The Knights can be confident whenever he gets the net again.

“He made a lot of big stops tonight to keep us in it early,” defenseman Shea Theodore said.

2. Power play shines

The Knights needed 13 games to score their third power-play goal last season.

They’ve already hit that mark this year after an impressive 2-for-4 performance Saturday. Marchessault converted the Knights’ first opportunity after being left wide open in the first period.

Left wing Reilly Smith added another power-play goal in the second period after picking up a loose puck off captain Mark Stone’s stick.

Those two tallies move the Knights to 3-for-12 to start the season after also scoring on the man advantage in their season opener in Los Angeles.

Cassidy credited some of the team’s success to faceoffs. The Knights won five of their six draws on the power play Saturday, giving them more time to attack.

3. Marchessault cooks Kraken

Marchessault likely wishes Seattle entered the league sooner.

The Original Misfit has crushed the expansion team in the Kraken’s brief history. He scored twice Saturday, giving him eight points (five goals, three assists) in five games against Seattle.

Marchessault, after scoring 30 goals last season for the second time in his career, has three through three games this year.

Contact Ben Gotz at bgotz@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BenSGotz on Twitter.