The Golden Knights kept rolling Thursday night, and the Calgary Flames never really had a way in. Vegas handled the Pacific Division’s last-place club with a 6-2 win, a result that only sharpened the Golden Knights’ early grip on the division race.
Jack Eichel kept driving the offense, piling up three more points to bring his season total to 16 in nine games. Mark Stone was the headliner, though.
He scored three times in the third period for his second career hat trick, helping turn a comfortable lead into a runaway. Four different Golden Knights found the back of the net, and Carter Hart backed it up with 28 saves to move to 4-2-0.
It’s been a strong early stretch for Vegas against division opponents. The Golden Knights have already gone through five Pacific teams in nine games and are 4-1-0 within the division after Thursday’s win. With Edmonton losing to the Utah Mammoth on Thursday, Vegas now holds a two-point edge over the Oilers, who sit at 13-11.
That’s a familiar place for the Golden Knights, who went 15-5-6 against division rivals last season. This year’s schedule has offered them a chance to bank points early, and they’ve taken advantage of it by beating the Vancouver Canucks, Los Angeles Kings, Seattle Kraken, and now the Flames. Calgary entered the night with just one win, and Vegas made sure there was no upset talk.
The rest of the Pacific schedule will bring tougher tests, but not right away. The Golden Knights won’t see Connor McDavid or Macklin Celebrini for another month, and their next division dates include Vancouver on November 15, then road trips to Edmonton on November 24 and San Jose on November 27. They’ll open December with a short trip to Los Angeles.
There’s still plenty of season left, and each Pacific team has played fewer than 10 games, so this isn’t the time for big declarations. But the early separation is real. Vegas is putting together the kind of start that can keep it out front, and wins like Thursday’s matter when the goal is to stay on top of the Pacific and chase another run to the Stanley Cup Final.
In Other News...
Golden Knights Look Built For A Run Thanks To One Big Edge
The Golden Knights have opened the season looking every bit like a club with a deep postseason run in mind, and the early results back that up. A 7-2-0 start has come with Mark Stone and Jack Eichel driving the top of the lineup, but the more telling sign has been the way Vegas has spread the offense across the roster, with 13 different goal scorers through nine games.
That kind of balance has become the calling card for this group, and it is also what makes the team difficult to game-plan against. Ryan Craig and several players have pointed to the value of depth and versatile play as the season wears on, especially with an eye toward keeping key pieces fresh for the stretch run and, ultimately, the playoffs. [Read more 🡒]
Golden Knights Suddenly Need More From Ville Heinola Than A Call-Up
Ville Heinolas recall from Henderson came at the kind of moment that can quickly reshape a blue line picture. With Parker Wotherspoon injured, the Golden Knights turned to a defenseman who has been productive in the AHL this season and has built a case as a reliable depth option, the sort of call-up teams lean on when they need stability more than flash.
For Vegas, the move fits a familiar pattern of juggling roster depth through injuries and patching together the back end with players who can step in without much warning. Heinola now gets a chance to do more than simply fill a spot, and the Knights could use his presence to help steady a defense group that has already had to adjust on the fly. [Read more 🡒]