3 takeaways from Knights’ win: Top line continues hot start — PHOTOS
Not every player is going to have his legs going early in the season.
Don’t tell that to the members of the Golden Knights’ top line. They continue to be a force.
Jack Eichel, Ivan Barbashev and Mark Stone had two points each, and the Knights held on for a 4-3 win over the St. Louis Blues on Friday at T-Mobile Arena.
Eichel and Barbashev had a goal and an assist each, and Stone had two assists to give the three 17 points combined through six periods of play.
The Knights have scored 12 goals, one of them being an empty-netter, to begin the season. Six of them have come from the top line.
“It’s been good. We want to continue to get better,” Eichel said. “I think there was a couple other chances we would’ve liked to finish, but it was overall a good effort from our team.”
Defenseman Shea Theodore had a goal and an assist, and goaltender Adin Hill made 19 saves to give the Knights (2-0-0) back-to-back home wins. They were coming off an 8-4 season-opening victory over the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday.
A key factor in that high-scoring affair against Colorado was how the Knights responded after each goal given up.
The first period Friday was no different.
After Blues center Pavel Buchnevich opened the scoring with the first of his two goals at 6:47, Eichel responded by gliding down the middle after receiving a feed from Barbashev and going forehand-to-backhand 1:15 later to tie it 1-1.
Barbashev scored his third goal in two nights at 18:13 of the first on another transition play. Eichel found Stone, who chipped the puck behind his back to a cutting Barbashev, and he flicked it over Binnington’s right shoulder to make it 2-1.
“He’s easy to read off of, right?” Eichel said of Barbashev. “He wins a lot of battles, he’s good on the walls. He’s got some underrated hands and scores in tight. He does all the little things that, as a centerman, makes my job a lot easier.”
The Blues (2-1-0) played the second night of a back-to-back following a 5-4 overtime win against the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center on Thursday. It was St. Louis’ third road game to start the season. Both wins, over Seattle and San Jose, required come-from-behind efforts.
It appeared to head that way again Friday.
The Knights took a two-goal lead twice — once in the second off Theodore’s goal at 2:55 and in the third following center Nicolas Roy’s goal at 12:53 of the third. St. Louis answered each time with goals from Buchnevich and center Robert Thomas.
But the Knights killed a Noah Hanifin delay-of-game penalty at 15:48 of the third when the Blues had a chance to tie. They also applied neutral zone pressure in the final minute to prevent Binnington from leaving the ice for the Blues to get an extra attacker.
The Knights let their foot off the gas after Thomas’ breakaway goal with 4:56 remaining, but they were able to reset.
“We were really dialed in playing winning hockey at the end,” coach Bruce Cassidy said. “That’s a real positive this time of the year. I was really proud of the guys at the end for getting it done and dialed it up in those key moments.”
It’s not sustainable for one line to carry a team, but the Knights have needed every ounce of production.
Center Tomas Hertl’s line with left wing Pavel Dorofeyev and right wing Alexander Holtz has yet to register a point. While Roy scored a goal, his third line with left wing Brett Howden and right wing Victor Olofsson was a minus-1.
The top line’s dynamic play has the Knights feeling good. They’ll take what they can and iron everything else out later.
“Those are the guys you look to, and that’s why we’ve put them together at the start,” Cassidy said. “Let’s rely on them early on and know they’re going to generate and then go from there.”
Here are three takeaways from the win:
1. Schwindt debut
Center Cole Schwindt’s mom and uncle packed up his Calgary, Alberta, apartment and made the 20-hour drive to watch his Knights debut.
They weren’t disappointed.
Schwindt picked up his first NHL point in his eighth career game with an assist on Theodore’s goal.
The Knights claimed the Kitchener, Ontario, native off waivers Monday from the Calgary Flames. The former third-round pick from 2019 skated on the fourth line with left wing Tanner Pearson and right wing Keegan Kolesar.
“It’s something I’ve dreamed about my whole life just to play in the NHL in general,” said Schwindt, who got to keep the puck.
Schwindt said he owes his mom and uncle a nice dinner after everything he did. They’re not the only ones.
“I think I owe Theo a nice dinner after that one,” he said.
2. Roy hits 300
Roy’s first goal of the season came in his 300th NHL game.
The 27-year-old center has played 293 of those with the Knights as he enters his sixth season with the team. The Knights acquired him in June 2019 in a trade with the Carolina Hurricanes involving center Erik Haula.
Roy has turned into a reliable center in his time in Las Vegas. While the bulk of his work has come on the fourth line, he’s proven his worth whenever he’s gone up in the lineup.
3. Theodore’s hot start
In the midst of the Knights’ great start offensively, their star defenseman has been solid.
Theodore, coming off a three-assist game Wednesday, recorded another multipoint game.
“It felt good. I think our group was very opportunistic,” Theodore said. “There’s definitely things to clean up, but overall, I think a great effort from everyone.”
Most of Theodore’s damage has come at five-on-five skating with defense partner Alex Pietrangelo, who also picked up an assist for the second straight game.
The Knights outshot the Blues 9-6 and outscored them 2-1 with Theodore and Pietrangelo on the ice.
It’s a big year for Theodore in terms of staying healthy after missing three months last season with an upper-body injury, as well as it being a contract year. So far, he’s pacing the talented Knights blue line well.
“We’ve been opportunistic, but defensively we’ve shut down some high-profiled players so far,” Theodore said. “Good test for our group.”
Contact Danny Webster at dwebster@reviewjournal.com. Follow @DannyWebster21 on X.