Some wins hit different, and for the Vegas Golden Knights, that was the case on Wednesday night in Los Angeles.
The 6-4 victory over the Los Angeles Kings with eight regulars out of the lineup did the Golden Knights a lot of good on a number of fronts.
In the short term, it gave them two points against a division rival and extended the club’s lead atop the Pacific Division to five points. Making the playoffs is priority No. 1 for Vegas but right behind getting in the tournament is securing seeding that will allow the team to stay open against a wild card club.
This last week of February and the month of March sees the team play 18 times in 34 days and getting wins in any fashion will be difficult. Stack them up while you can.
The long term effect of allowing the five VGK players who played in the gold medal game at the Olympics on Sunday is also key. Those players need physical and mental rest and missing the game in LA was a solid first step in that direction.
Vegas needed an offensive boost with its top three scorers, Jack Eichel, Mark Stone and Mitch Marner, unavailable and Pavel Dorofeyev came through with a pair of goals.
- Dorofeyev scored his 15th power-play goal of the season, a career-high and a new franchise record. Dorofeyev has scored 28 power-play goals since the start of the 2024-25 season which ranks third among NHL skaters.
Some observers haven’t figured out the value of Jeremy Lauzon but the heavy hitting defensemen brings impact almost every night in the game within the game. Lauzon hits like a truck and makes opposition forwards wary when entering the VGK zone.
Lauzon pounded Kings forward Quinton Byfield on Wednesday as well as Artemi Panarin. Kings winger Corey Perry took an instigator penalty after the hit on Byfield and Panarin earned a roughing penalty for retaliating after getting smushed by Lauzon. Vegas picked up the game-winning goal on the power play with Panarin in the box.
- Lauzon laid a season-high 10 hits against Los Angeles, tied for the third-most in a single game by the defenseman in his career.
Welcome back, Brayden McNabb. McNabb had played in 298 consecutive games before missing 19 with an upper body injury. Wednesday was his first game back and he was his usual impactful self.
- McNabb (2A) posted his first multi-point game of the season in his return from injury. McNabb tied Dorofeyev for the team lead in shots with four and blocked four shots in the defensive zone.
Jack Eichel and Noah Hanifin arrived in Washington on Tuesday to attend the State of the Union at the Capitol and the team elected to have them stay there rather than travel to LA. While their teammates were picking up two points against the Kings, the two gold medal winners joined ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt in studio for a lengthy chat.
Eichel described the emotions connecting to winning for his country.
“A whirlwind is a good way to describe it. You know what? I think you always dream about winning the Olympics as young hockey players, and we've been really fortunate to come up through the ranks of USA Hockey, and the pride you're taking wearing the red, white, and blue, and the pinnacle of it all is having the opportunity to play in the Olympics, represent your country, and hopefully win a gold medal,” he said. “But to be able to ever think that it would be what it's become, and just the reception we've gotten from the people here. When you're there, you're in a bubble, so you don't really understand how much weight it's all carrying back here in the States, and it's just been incredible. We feel it. We feel all the support from the people over here, and how excited our country is, and it's been pretty incredible.”
Hanifin was teammates with Johnny Gaudreau in Calgary with the Flames and with Matthew Gaudreau at Boston College. Both men were tragically killed in a car accident while they were riding bikes in New Jersey over the summer of 2024.
Since then, USA Hockey has continued to honor them in a variety of ways including bringing Johnny Gaudreau’s children on to the ice during the gold medal celebration.
“It was amazing, very emotional. The Gaudreau family, Meredith, his kids, we're all still in touch, and just to have them to be there to experience that moment with all of us, it felt right, and to bring his kids out there,” said Hanifin. “As they get older, they're going to realize who their dad was and how important he was to all of us, and his family, and USA Hockey in general, and just to have them experience that was amazing. Just so happy Zach [Werenski] and Dylan [Larkin] were able to get his kids on the ice for that photo.”
During the Golden Knights run to the Stanley Cup in 2023, Eichel remarked that some of his favorite moments came after wins then he would come out of the dressing room to find his own family as well as the families of his teammates. He compared it to growing up and going away to tournaments with his teammates and their parents and siblings.
Eichel has consistently demonstrated that he is about family and country.
“No, it isn’t [too cosmic to say that his children looked comfortable with the team], and I think you hit the nail on the head. I mean, we're a family, and USA Hockey is a family. Johnny's been a part of USA Hockey, and I think everybody on that team has some sort of memory and story with him and played with him at some point,” said Eichel. “And what Johnny meant to USA Hockey, what he meant to all the guys in that locker room, to be able to have his family there. Yeah, I mean, that was really cool to be able to have his kids out on the ice after the game, and it did feel like they were just comfortable in the arms of a couple of their uncles.”
Eichel and Hanifin, as well as Stone, Marner and Shea Theodore are expected to be in Washington for Friday’s game against the Capitals. Head Coach Bruce Cassidy wouldn’t confirm all five would play when asked after Wednesday’s game but that is the hope.
Both Eichel and Hanifin told SVP they were eager to get back to their teammates and to begin a chase for the Stanley Cup.
“Listen, competition's competition, and you have it in the Olympics. You play against teammates, guys you care about, guys you love, and you spend every day with when you're back home during the season, but we're all competitors. We all want to win, and you know, unfortunately, this incredible ride that we've been on for the last few weeks of competing, representing our country, it's kind of coming to a close now, and it's back to regularly scheduled business,” said Eichel. “But I will say, our regularly scheduled business is pretty good, and I'm really excited to get back with the guys and see our team. We have an awesome group in Vegas, and it makes coming to the rink that much better every day.”
Some notes heading into Friday’s game as compiled by VGK communications manager India Shay:
GOLDEN!
Golden Knights center Jack Eichel and defenseman Noah Hanifin won gold with Team USA at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Games on Sunday. Eichel and Hanifin helped the United States win its first gold medal in Men’s Ice Hockey since the “Miracle on Ice” at the 1980 Winter Olympics at Lake Placid. Eichel finished with six points (2-4—6) in six games to go with a +5 rating and led all U.S. forwards in TOI, averaging 18:16 per game. Hanifin notched three points (1-2—3) in six games to go with a +3 rating, including the game-winning goal in the U.S.’s 6-3 win over Denmark in the preliminary round.
SILVER
Vegas captain Mark Stone, forward Mitch Marner and defenseman Shea Theodore competed for Team Canada at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Games in the Gold Medal game against the United States on Sunday. Canada earned silver after falling 2-1 in overtime to the Americans. Marner led the Canadian Golden Knights with five points (1-4—5) in six games with a +5 rating. Marner’s brightest moment came when the winger scored the game-winning goal in overtime to knock out Czechia in the quarterfinal round. Stone tallied four points (2-2—4) through six games and was one of five skaters to notch a shorthanded goal in the tournament. Theodore tallied two points (1-1—2) in six games with a +3 rating, including the game-tying goal to fuel Canada’s comeback victory over Finland in the semifinal round.
CIAO MILANO
Three other Golden Knights returned from Milan after making their Olympic debuts. Tomas Hertl led Czechia to a quarterfinal berth, where he notched an assist on Ondrej Palat’s go-ahead goal late in the third period against Canada. Rasmus Andersson appeared in two games for Team Sweden, where he averaged 16:02 TOI. Akira Schmid appeared in net for Switzerland against Canada during the preliminary round. Schmid stopped 34 of 39 shots.
JACKPOT
Jack Eichel leads Vegas with 68 points (21-47—68) through 50 GP this season. The centerman has recorded five assists in his last four games to own 47 helpers on the 2025-26 campaign. Eichel sits three assists from becoming the first Vegas skater in franchise history to record multiple 50-assist seasons after he posted his first last season (66) as a member of the Golden Knights.
THE ROLLING STONE
Mark Stone reached the 60-point mark for the second consecutive season, recording 21 goals and 39 assists through 41 GP. Stone has averaged 1.46 points per game played, which ranks fifth among all skaters in the NHL. The captain has collected a point in 35 of his 41 (85.3%) appearances, the highest percentage in the league this season.
MARNER MAGIC
Mitch Marner ranks third in points for Vegas this season, owning 58 (16-42—58) through 57 GP. Marner carries a five-game (4-2—6) point streak and has scored four goals during the stretch. The forward sits just one point away from reaching the 800-point milestone, and his 799 points (236-563) rank eighth among all NHL skaters since he entered the league. Marner is second only to Eichel with 20 multi-point outings this season. Marner has now recorded at least 40 assists in each of his 10 NHL seasons.
