3 takeaways from Knights’ win: Top line buries Avalanche — PHOTOS
The Golden Knights’ top line, in a tie game late in the first period, finally found its legs.
The trio of left wing Ivan Barbashev, center Jack Eichel and captain Mark Stone didn’t have a shot attempt through 18 minutes of the Knights’ season opener against the Colorado Avalanche at T-Mobile Arena on Wednesday.
Then they flipped the game on its head in less than a minute.
Barbashev and Stone scored 25 seconds apart to give the Knights a 3-1 lead after the first period. It was the start of an offensive explosion for the group. Barbashev and Stone each had two goals, while Eichel had four assists to help the team match a regular-season franchise record for goals in a game in an 8-4 victory over the Avalanche.
“It’s a good win for us. It’s a good team we just played,” Stone said. “Shows a lot of character in the group to bounce back when things didn’t go our way tonight.”
Coach Bruce Cassidy loaded up his top line with center William Karlsson out with an undisclosed injury.
Barbashev got the group going with 1:28 remaining in the first period when he took a pass from defenseman Noah Hanifin and fired the puck past Colorado goaltender Alexandar Georgiev to give the Knights a 2-1 lead.
The trio got an odd-man rush off the ensuing faceoff and Eichel fed Stone to extend the advantage to 3-1.
The Knights were outshot 12-2 with their top line on the ice in the first period. The two shots were the two goals. The trio ended up outscoring the Avalanche 4-1 at five-on-five on the night.
“I liked their game together,” Cassidy said. “We needed it tonight.”
Left wing Victor Olofsson also scored twice in his Knights debut after signing a one-year deal in the offseason. Goaltender Adin Hill made 28 saves.
The Knights improved to 7-1 all-time in season openers. Their only loss to begin a campaign came against the Philadelphia Flyers on Oct. 4, 2018.
“(It) felt good,” Barbashev said. “I still think we have a lot of things to improve to be honest in the next couple of days.”
Cassidy said defense can lag behind other areas early in the season. Top players can take advantage of that, and the Knights’ best skaters did.
Their eight goals tied a regular-season franchise record first set against the Chicago Blackhawks on Nov. 27, 2018.
Colorado’s stars shined as well. Avalanche right wing Mikko Rantanen had a hat trick with three goals. Center Nathan MacKinnon, the reigning Hart Trophy winner, had two assists.
Eichel outshone them both, however.
He recorded his first four-point game since Nov. 10, 2022 against Buffalo. He came the sixth player since the 2002-03 season to have four assists in a season opener and the first since Rantanen did it in 2022.
“Typical Jack,” Barbashev said. “He’s in midseason form, which is good for us.”
Barbashev put the finishing touches on his two-goal, two-assist night by danging through the neutral zone and firing a backhand shot into the net to put the Knights up 7-4 with 6:06 remaining.
It was a complete turnaround from the beginning of the game, when Colorado fired the first five shots on goal. But the Knights, like their top line, finished much better than they started.
“It’s one game,” Stone said. “You’re not going to make a statement the first game of the season, but I’m happy we were able to beat a really good Colorado team.”
Here are three takeaways from the win:
1. Georgiev pulled
Georgiev allowed five goals on 16 shots and was pulled after the second period.
He was replaced by 24-year-old Justus Annunen, who made his 19th NHL appearance. Annunen gave up two goals on four shots.
The Knights haven’t had a hard time scoring on Colorado lately. They beat the Avalanche 7-0 on Nov. 4, with Georgiev allowing all seven goals in the loss.
2. Stick don’t lie
A pair of high-sticking calls in the third period changed the game.
Defenseman Alex Pietrangelo had a goal taken off the board 4:58 into the third when left wing Pavel Dorofeyev was called for his infraction prior to the puck crossing the goal line.
Rantanen completed his hat trick just after the power play expired to cut Colorado’s deficit to 5-4.
The Knights benefited from a high-sticking call 1:24 later when Avalanche defenseman Devon Toews was called for a double minor. Stone scored his second goal nine seconds into the first power play.
It was the fourth time the Knights answered a Colorado goal with one of their own.
“Pretty much all the goals they scored we had some key timely goals to push the momentum back in our way,” Stone said. “If you’re going to win games in this league, you’ll have to win different ways.”
3. Fourth line sets tone
The one group that showed up on time at puck drop was the fourth line.
The newly-formed trio of left wing Tanner Pearson, center Brett Howden and right wing Keegan Kolesar generated some of the Knights’ best chances early. Howden had three of his team’s first four shots on goal, including two scoring chances within 10 feet of Georgiev that the goaltender stopped.
The group’s hard work was rewarded at the end. Howden scored an empty-net goal with 36 seconds remaining and Pearson provided the primary assist.
Contact Danny Webster at dwebster@reviewjournal.com. Follow @DannyWebster21 on X.
