The post-game recovery concoctions (once about a time it was an ice-cold beer, but those days are long gone) sure tasted a lot better last night for the Vegas Golden Knights.
In a week which saw them doubted as contenders by both local and national observers, the Golden Knights needed a win on Thursday night, and they got one with a 6-2 passing of the Pittsburgh Penguins.
For the second game in a row, Vegas held the opposition to just two goals to break their three-game losing streak.
The win wasn’t perfect and the Golden Knights must continue to raise the level of their game, but the formula was what GM Kelly McCrimmon envisioned when he built this roster. Two-goals against or less and a balanced offensive attack that had the opposition running out of match-up options as every fresh Vegas line hopped over the boards is how this team is constructed to play. On Thursday night, they did just that. Now they need to do it again and again and again.
Captain Mark Stone was held off the scoresheet against Pittsburgh after missing five games with an upper-body injury that had every hockey fan in Nevada holding its breath. Stone’s timing will get better with every passing game and his impact will be felt in a myriad of ways. But on Thursday, he rounded out the team’s top line and slotted every Vegas forward in a spot where they belong.
Stone skated with Jack Eichel as well as Ivan Barbashev and the trio was effective finishing on the plus side with Eichel scoring a goal on a nice feed from Barbashev.
Eichel has been critical for Vegas playing big minutes without getting much of a breather since the 2026 Olympic Winter Games. Head coach Bruce Cassidy was able to keep Eichel’s time-on-ice under 20 minutes on Thursday and more of that going forward will be a good thing for Vegas.
Eichel is the team’s most important player and anything the Golden Knights can do to replenish his energy reserves is worthwhile. Eventually, Cassidy will have to turn to Eichel in moments of need so having the player in the best possible position to deliver is key. In the end, as Jack goes, so go the Golden Knights.
Vegas was able to ice two top lines Thursday night. A top six of the Eichel line plus Tomas Hertl between Mitch Marner and Pavel Dorofeyev is among the best in the NHL. Vegas hasn’t had the group together often enough of late, and it has held the team back. Dorofeyev scored twice against the Penguins, Marner picked up a goal and they had all kinds of chemistry as a line.
The return of Stone allowed Cassidy to put Braeden Bowman on the wing with Colton Sissons in the middle and Brett Howden on the other side. Bowman was dangerous all night and had a pair of assists including a sweet pass on the first goal of the night finding Sissons in the slot.
Cassidy used his fourth line of Nic Dowd between Cole Smith and Keegan Kolesar to start the game and periods as well as in repeated defensive-zone faceoffs. They brought energy and physicality to the game and were a momentum changer time and time again. They get the puck out of their own zone, get it into the offensive zone, and establish a forecheck before handing the ice over to one of the more offensive-minded lines. They have identity and ability and are effective.
The end result is a four-line team which is a matchup issue for the other side.
Defensively, the Golden Knights were mostly clean. It was a good step forward for the group and they held the opposition to under 20 shots until Penguins Head coach Dan Muse pulled his goalie with almost seven minutes left in the third period.
In net, it was a third-straight start for Adin Hill, and he was solid again.
Again, it wasn’t perfect, but it was a convincing win at a big moment. Next up are the Chicago Blackhawks, then Vegas will get a rare two days between games in this busiest of months.
Following Thursday’s performance with an even better game is the focus for the Golden Knights. The current lineup is of contender caliber, and the timing in terms of getting hot is perfect.
