The Vegas Golden Knights exploded for eight goals in the home opener of Year 8, defeating the Colorado Avalanche 8-4 Wednesday night at T-Mobile Arena. It was the sixth consecutive season-opening win for the Golden Knights and third straight under head coach Bruce Cassidy.
Jack Eichel and Ivan Barbashev had four-point nights, Mark Stone scored twice, Shea Theodore chipped in three helpers and Victor Olofsson scored two goals in his Golden Knights debut in a high-scoring affair.
Vegas took full advantage of a rough night by Colorado netminder Alexandar Georgiev, who was pulled after yielding five goals on 16 shots through 40 minutes. In the end, the Golden Knights scored eight goals on just 22 shots (36 percent), including Brett Howden’s empty-net goal late in the third. It was a fitting end for Howden, who had three of Vegas’ first four shots on the night.
The Golden Knights scored at least two goals in all three periods and answered 27 seconds, 1:34, 2:14 and 1:30 after Colorado’s goals.
The new-look Vegas power play went 2-for-3, and five of six Vegas rearguards found the scoresheet on opening night.
It was the Avalanche who opened the scoring, as Mikko Rantanen’s first of three goals put Colorado ahead 10:48 into the opening frame.
But Vegas evened things up just 27 seconds later as Olofsson potted his first as a Golden Knight. Georgiev anticipated a centering feed, leaving the top corner wide open for Olofsson, who cashed in from the boards.
Vegas took its first lead of the game with 1:28 left in the frame when Barbashev beat Georgiev from the slot. It was a stellar play by Noah Hanifin, who delayed at the blue line before firing a perfect pass to the wide-open Barbashev.
Just 35 seconds later, Stone made it 3-1 with just over a minute remaining in the first period. Barbashev set up a 2-on-1 for Eichel and Stone, and Stone buried Eichel’s backhand saucer feed.
Much like in the first period, Rantanen opened the scoring in the middle frame, this time with a power-play tally at 4:15. Colorado’s lethal top unit was on full display, and Rantanen scored another one on the one-timer after a series of quick passes around the zone.
But just like in the first period, the Golden Knights responded quickly, as Zach Whitecloud beat Georgiev cleanly on an unscreened shot just 1:34 later. It was a nice play by Eichel and Barbashev to set up Whitecloud, but Georgiev was late getting over and/or thought the shot was going wide.
Casey Mittelstadt brought Colorado within one when he beat Adin Hill on the rebound with 2:28 left in the second.
But Olofsson’s power-play tally with 14 seconds left in the frame made it a 5-3 contest and proved to be the game-winner.
Early in the third, Cale Makar made a sensational outlet pass to set up a Nathan MacKinnon breakaway, but his shot hit the post. However, Rantanen once again opened the scoring, completing the first hat trick of the 2024-25 season just under seven minutes into the frame.
But less than two minutes later, a Devon Toews double-minor set up an immediate Vegas power-play strike, as Eichel’s shot hit Stone on its way into the net to restore Vegas’ two-goal edge.
Perhaps the best goal of the night was Barbashev’s third-period tally to cap off his incredible showing, which included two goals, two assists and two explosive hits.
Colorado pulled the goalie with five minutes remaining but was unable to cut into Vegas’ lead. Howden hit the empty net to seal the 8-4 win with 36 seconds left in the game; Tanner Pearson assisted on the play for his first point with the Golden Knights.
All in all, the Golden Knights did a lot of things well on opening night, and an eight-goal effort was an encouraging sign following extensive offseason turnover.
That being said, it was a brutal night for Georgiev, who gave up some of the softer goals you’ll see all year. Unscreened shots, poor position play and sluggish reaction time led to several goals that won’t light the lamp nine times out of 10 during the regular season. The Golden Knights deserve credit for capitalizing on a shaky performance and for getting pucks to the net, but the eight-goal output might not be indicative of what is to come. Plus, a 36 percent shooting percentage isn’t sustainable on any level.
However, the Golden Knights made a lot of strong plays, and the top line was lethal.
Eichel elevated his game to a new level with four assists and countless other effective plays in a complete effort. At times, Barbashev looked possessed, and the chemistry between those two was evident despite not having Jonathan Marchessault in the fold. Stone was a late addition to the unit with the injury to William Karlsson, but he and Eichel formed a formidable 200-foot duo. The line clicked in all three zones, and the trio combined for 11 points.
Olofsson seems to have rediscovered his scoring touch, which is what Kelly McCrimmon was banking on when he signed him over the offseason. Though he didn’t face a true test in net, Olofsson looked comfortable and confident with the puck; the Golden Knights are going to need him to continue to play with that shoot-first mentality.
The power play carried over its strong play from the preseason, scoring on two of three opportunities. Plus, the defense contributed seven combined points, not including the Alex Pietrangelo goal that came back just after Pavel Dorofeyev was whistled for a high stick.
Hill turned aside 28 of 32 shots for an .875 save percentage, giving up three Rantanen one-timers (two of which were essentially power-play goals) and a rebound goal in tight. It was far from his best night, and he’ll need to be better, but he did enough to get out to a 1-0-0 start for the third year in a row.
The Golden Knights will host the Blues on Friday night and the Ducks on Sunday before heading out on a three-game road trip.
