Jack Eichel kept his strong start rolling Thursday night, and in the process pushed himself deeper into a tiny corner of Golden Knights history.
With Vegas trailing the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-0, Eichel buried a penalty shot at 3:58 of the second period to finish off the comeback and pull the Golden Knights level. It was his second career penalty-shot goal, and it came after he had already set up a first-period score earlier in the night. He’s now 2-for-4 on penalty shots in his NHL career, including 1-for-2 with Vegas.
That finish also mattered on a franchise level. Eichel’s goal was just the seventh successful penalty shot in Golden Knights history, coming in the team’s 20th such opportunity. He also became the fifth Vegas player to score on a penalty shot, joining David Perron, Jonathan Marchessault, Mark Stone, and Reilly Smith.
Vegas’ penalty-shot story started almost perfectly. Perron delivered the first one in franchise history on Oct. 31, 2017, beating Henrik Lundqvist at Madison Square Garden in a 6-4 win. Less than a year later, Marchessault scored in overtime against Craig Anderson on Oct. 28, 2018, to lift the Golden Knights past the Ottawa Senators 4-3 at T-Mobile Arena.
After that fast start, the misses started to pile up. Smith was denied by the Arizona Coyotes on Feb. 12, 2019, and William Karlsson came up empty against the Dallas Stars on Mar. 15, 2019.
Marchessault handled the next three attempts for Vegas and converted two of them. He was stopped by the Chicago Blackhawks on Nov. 13, 2019, then scored against the Anaheim Ducks on Dec. 31, 2019, before striking again against the Colorado Avalanche in the postseason round-robin tournament at Rogers Place in Edmonton on Aug. 8, 2020.
The Ducks showed up again for the next two Vegas penalty shots, and the results were the same: no goal. Chandler Stephenson missed on Apr. 16, 2021, and Mattias Janmark also failed to score on Dec. 31, 2021.
The Golden Knights had six penalty-shot chances in the 2022-23 season alone. Stone converted against the Edmonton Oilers on Nov. 19, 2022, and Smith scored against the Minnesota Wild on Feb.
9, 2023. But Stephenson was stopped by the Seattle Kraken on Oct.
15, 2022, Marchessault missed against the Buffalo Sabres on Dec. 19, 2022, William Carrier was denied by the New York Islanders on Jan. 28, 2023, and Karlsson couldn’t beat the New Jersey Devils on Mar.
3, 2023.
Since then, chances have been rare. Vegas had only one penalty shot in each of the next two seasons, with Eichel missing against the Montreal Canadiens on Oct. 30, 2023, and Keegan Kolesar coming up short against the Carolina Hurricanes on Jan. 17, 2025.
Mitch Marner was the next Golden Knights player to get multiple looks. He missed against the Ottawa Senators on Jan. 25, 2026, then got another shot during the Stanley Cup Final against the Carolina Hurricanes on June 6, but couldn’t convert there either. He had already recorded a hat trick that night and was trying to join the short list of players with four goals in a Stanley Cup Final game.
Eichel’s goal on Thursday gave him a place in that group as only the second Golden Knights skater to score twice on penalty shots, and it left him one goal shy of Marchessault’s franchise record.
In Other News...
Mitch Marner Has A Chance To Burn Toronto In His Vegas Debut
Mitch Marners first game in a Golden Knights sweater is already carrying extra weight, and not just because it comes against the Maple Leafs, the team that made him one of the NHLs most recognizable young stars. Vegas brought him in to tilt games with his playmaking, and this matchup offers an immediate chance to see how quickly he fits into a group built to attack in waves. With his linemates bringing plenty of offense of their own, the setup feels tailor-made for Marner to make an early imprint.
There are a few different ways he could do it, from feeding the power play to creating pressure in short-handed situations, where his anticipation has long been a weapon. Toronto, meanwhile, has had its own issues in net lately, which only adds to the intrigue around a player who has already spent years trying to solve the Leafs on the biggest stage. The debut has plenty of storylines attached to it, but the one everyone will be watching is whether Marner can make his former club feel the loss right away. [Read more 🡒]
Golden Knights Suddenly Face A Scoring Problem They Didn't Expect
Victor Olofssons latest setback adds another wrinkle to a Vegas lineup that was already going to be tested in the coming stretch. Golden Knights coach Ryan Craig said the forward is out week-to-week after an injury suffered in the game against Seattle, forcing the club to adjust on the fly and reshuffle its options up front for the next run of games.
Olofsson left that contest and did not return, leaving Vegas to manage without another scoring piece while it waits for a clearer recovery timeline. For a team that has leaned on depth to stay balanced, losing a player for an extended period means the margin for error gets thinner fast, even before the roster decisions start to settle in. [Read more 🡒]
Golden Knights Face A New Challenge In Toronto's Shifting Lineup
The Golden Knights are heading into Toronto with a slightly different look of their own, as injured Victor Olofsson comes out of the lineup and Raphael Lavoie gets a chance to step in. Olofsson had opened the season with four goals in four games, so Vegas is not just swapping a body, it is trying to absorb the loss of a player who had quickly become a real early-season driver.
Toronto, meanwhile, is adjusting around a lineup that keeps shifting ahead of the meeting. Rookie Gavin McKenna is expected to slide back onto the third line, where the Leafs are trying to settle him in alongside Nick Paul and Colton Sissons, while Sergei Bobrovsky is slated to start in goal as he looks for his first win of the season. For Vegas, that means another test against a team still searching for the right mix, with the details of Toronto's new look adding a little extra uncertainty to an already tricky road game. [Read more 🡒]