Jack Eichel notched a goal and an assist, Adin Hill made 22 saves, and the Vegas Golden Knights defeated the Anaheim Ducks 4-1 on Saturday night.
Chandler Stephenson and Shea Theodore each contributed a goal and an assist, while Jonas Rondbjerg netted his first goal of the season. The defending champions, playing their third game in five nights, improved to 3-0-0, with all wins by identical scores.
Hill’s record against Anaheim now stands at 6-0-1.
Vegas’s impressive all-time record against Anaheim is 23-5-1, their best against any opponent except Seattle (8-1-0) and San Jose (21-2-5).
The Golden Knights have outscored their opponents 12-3 through the first three games, with ten different skaters scoring and 18 players registering at least one point.
“That’s the good thing about winning (the Stanley Cup) — you don’t have much time off,” Stephenson said. “Roll into camp, knock a little rust off, and it doesn’t feel like you left. That’s been really nice to start how we have. Hopefully, we can keep rolling on this, building on it.”
Mason McTavish scored for Anaheim, and John Gibson made 34 saves in the Ducks’ season opener. Gibson’s career record against Vegas dropped to 4-17-5.
The Ducks have now lost six straight games at T-Mobile Arena.
Eichel scored his second goal of the season by weaving through Anaheim’s defense, maneuvering around Gibson, and firing the puck into an open net for a power-play goal with just 2 seconds left in the first period.
“I took a quick look up, saw there was around 13 seconds, so just trying to get another attack in, just trying to get to the net knowing that there’s not a ton of time,” Eichel said. “A couple of fortuitous bounces, and yeah, it was a good goal.”
Stephenson extended Vegas’ lead with a perfect 2-on-1 play with Paul Cotter, tapping the return feed into a wide-open net.
Theodore, playing in his 400th game as a Golden Knight and against his former team, scored his first goal of the season with a powerful one-timer, marking Vegas’ second power-play goal of the night. Theodore’s assistance with Eichel’s goal brought him within one of 200 career assists.
Anaheim responded less than a minute later when McTavish scored on a rebound.
Rondbjerg’s empty-net goal sealed the final score.
CRONIN ERA BEGINS
Saturday started the Greg Cronin era as Anaheim’s head coach. Cronin, a former assistant with the Islanders and Maple Leafs, spent the last five seasons as head coach of the AHL’s Colorado Eagles.
“We played hard,” Cronin said. “I’m not disappointed with the effort. The execution got sloppy. That was a game of inches, for me, on puck battles a number of times, and they won those battles. They’re a veteran team; they know how to win, they make the right plays, and they execute.”
PENALTY KILLING STREAK
Vegas successfully killed all three of Anaheim’s power plays, extending their penalty kill streak to 11 games, dating back to Game 5 of the Western Conference final. They have denied opponents in their last 25 power-play opportunities.
UP NEXT
- Ducks: Host Carolina on Sunday night.
- Golden Knights: Host Dallas on Tuesday night.
