The Vegas Golden Knights treated Thursday like the kind of night good teams are supposed to handle cleanly.
Hosting a Calgary club that came in last in the Pacific Division and 1-5 overall, Vegas did exactly what was asked, rolling past the Flames 6-2 at T-Mobile Arena to move to 7-2 on the season. The result came with goals in every flavor imaginable: at even strength, shorthanded, and on the power play. Mark Stone also uncorked a natural hat trick in the third period to put the game away in a hurry.
Brett Howden set the tone almost immediately, scoring just 26 seconds into the game off a slick backhand feed from Mitch Marner. Howden’s wrist shot from the left circle beat Dustin Wolf and gave Vegas the early edge.
Jack Eichel doubled it soon after, jumping a puck in the neutral zone, carrying in alone and finishing past Wolf while Brayden McNabb was in the box for holding. It was Eichel’s fifth goal of the year.
“We were ready to play," Craig said. “It was nice to get one early.
That got us going. Then the shorthanded goal with Jack making a great play.
Nice to get up in that situation and I give our guys credit for being ready to go.”
Stone added: “I think our starts have been pretty solid. It’s a snowball effect where at times we get the first goal and get right back to work and there’s times where we fall behind. It’s just a matter of sticking with the program through its entirety.”
Calgary briefly made things interesting in the second when Jacob Middleton scored shorthanded to cut the lead to 2-1 after Vegas got sloppy on the power play and gave up a 2-on-1. But the response came quickly. Braeden Bowman’s shot from the slot slipped through Wolf’s legs on the power play, restoring a two-goal cushion at 3-1.
The Flames entered the game with just 14 goals in seven contests, and that lack of punch showed again once Stone took over in the third period. He scored 1:06 into the final frame to make it 4-1, added another with 7:50 left for a 5-1 lead, then completed the hat trick with 3:47 remaining on a high shot to the stick side.
That finish also capped a strong night for Eichel, who had a goal and two assists for three points. He now sits at five goals and 11 assists for a team-high 16 points through nine games, leaving him two points behind Connor McDavid for the league lead.
Vegas also leaned on its forwards to pressure Calgary all night, winning battles along the boards and on the forecheck while Craig kept his four lines moving. The lineup shuffle on defense helped too, with Parker Wotherspoon on IR opening the door for Noah Hanifin to return to the left side.
Hanifin looked more comfortable there after opening the season on the right with Jeremy Lauzon, and he’s now skating with Dylan Coghlan on the third pair. Coghlan picked up an assist on Stone’s second goal.
“I think we were able to get back to our game, the receipt we know is successful,” Bowman said. “Get pucks behind the D and play to our strengths. Forecheck and the offense goes from there.”
Attendance was announced at 16,433, well below capacity, but the night still checked the box the Golden Knights needed. The bigger challenge comes Saturday, when Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins come to town after playing Friday in Denver against the Avalanche.
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Vegas is already looking like the team others in the Pacific will have to chase, and the early division record backs that up. The Golden Knights have started 4-1-0 against Pacific opponents, which gives this latest win a little extra weight beyond the scoreboard, even if the rest of the schedule is still young enough to leave room for plenty to change. [Read more 🡒]