Eichel has hat trick, Golden Knights top Sabres for ninth straight win

BUFFALO --Jack Eichel scored a hat trick and had an assist for the Vegas Golden Knights in their ninth straight win, 7-4 against the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center on Thursday.

It was Eichel's first points in his second game against the Sabres since he was traded to the Golden Knights for Alex Tuch and Peyton Krebs on Nov. 4, 2021.
He was greeted with heavy boos each time he was on the ice.
"It's satisfying," Eichel said. "It's satisfying to come in here and win. I think that was the most important thing for our group tonight. They were desperate and they gave us everything we could handle and we found a way to make the plays when we needed to."
Chandler Stephenson had a goal and three assists, Alex Pietrangelo had a goal and two assists, and Logan Thompson made 31 saves for Vegas (13-2-0), which swept a five-game road trip for the first time.
"Probably the best start in my career that I've ever been on," Golden Knights captain Mark Stone said. "Knock on wood, good health. Great goaltending, our defense has been good. Jack's kind of leading the way offensively, but if you look down on the board, so many guys chipping in offensively. … So, it was a good game for us and it's a good start. We've got to go home and carry the momentum."

Tage Thompson scored twice, Dylan Cozens had two assists, and Eric Comrie made 29 saves for the Sabres (7-7-0), who have lost four in a row.
"I think we were a little sloppy at times giving them free offense and they're a good team," Thompson said. "They're going to make you pay. That's something we've got to learn moving forward, managing the puck at both blue lines and making sure we're not turning it over. It's the way it goes sometimes. We just have to be a little better."
Stephenson gave Vegas a 1-0 lead on the power play at 5:44 of the first period on a one-timer from the bottom of the right face-off circle off a rebound.
Thompson tied it 1-1 at 16:23 on the power play from the left circle off a no-look pass from Kyle Okposo.
Nicolas Hague appeared to score 23 seconds later, but the goal was nullified when video review revealed Hague preceded the puck into the offensive zone without possession and control and was offside.
Phil Kessel gave the Golden Knights a 2-1 lead at 3:43 of the second period on a one-timer from the left circle.

Casey Mittelstadt cut to the net on a power play and lifted a backhand to tie it 2-2 at 14:09.
Paul Cotter put Vegas ahead 3-2 on a breakaway at 17:08.
"We gave them way too much," Buffalo coach Don Granato said. "I thought Comrie was great through the early part; the breakaways we gave up were all self-inflicted. He was very good there and there was enough opportunity for us to make it, to do good things. We just didn't convert, didn't clean out the sloppiness."
Pietrangelo pushed it to 4-2 at 3:52 of the third period when his point shot deflected off the stick of Sabres defenseman Jacob Bryson. It was his first goal of the season.
Eichel was left uncovered at the left side of the net to extend it to 5-2 at 6:13. He has 12 points (six goals, six assists) in a seven-game point streak.
"It felt good," Eichel said. "I had a couple of breakaways. … They were obviously on me all night. Yeah, it felt good to get one. It was a big point in the game for our group. It never felt like we were fully in control. Give them a lot of credit; they're a really good team over there. They make a lot of plays and put a lot of pressure on you defensively. They've got some really good players."
Thompson narrowed it to 5-3 at 9:40, driving to the net around Hague and scoring top corner.

Eichel made it 6-3 at 14:37 from the bottom of the right circle.
Rasmus Asplund cut it to 6-4 with a short-handed goal at 16:31, but Eichel completed his third NHL hat trick when he scored into an empty net with eight seconds remaining for the 7-4 final.
"I don't think we've gotten to our identity at any point this year," Granato said. "These are the situations that guide you toward your identity. We played a little bit better in pace and we generated more, we had more shots and more shot attempts. We scored four, obviously. We had posts, had point-blank chances we missed, so [generating] is not an issue. It is giving too much, too many freebies. That was the challenge. That was the issue tonight, clearly.
"You trade chances with the talent that they have, it works out the way it worked out."
NOTES: Vegas' longest winning streak is 10, from April 9-28, 2021. … The Golden Knights placed goalie Laurent Brossoit on waivers. … Pietrangelo has 400 NHL assists. … Thompson has 15 points (nine goals, six assists) in the past eight games. He is the first Sabres player to score 10 goals in 14 games or fewer since Thomas Vanek did it in 10 games in 2012-13. … Buffalo forward Vinnie Hinostroza had an assist in 14:42 after being scratched the past five games. … The Golden Knights have scored the first goal 11 times this season and lead the NHL with 20 goals in the first period. … Buffalo has at least one power-play goal in eight straight games for the first time since Dec. 19, 2008-Jan. 6, 2009. The Sabres are 11-for-31 (35.5 percent) in the streak.