Golden Knights’ Olympians from United States, Canada turn focus to Stanley Cup

WASHINGTON -- In a way, getting back to work with the Vegas Golden Knights on Friday represented the first step toward a return to normalcy for Jack Eichel, Noah Hanifin, Mark Stone, Mitch Marner and Shea Theodore.

They began the week pitted against each other in the gold medal game at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026. Eichel and Hanifin helped Team USA win its first Olympic gold in men’s hockey in 46 years with a 2-1 overtime victory on Sunday, but did so at the expense of Stone, Marner, Theodore and Team Canada. 

Five days later, they were back wearing the same uniform, but perhaps not back mentally yet for the start of Vegas’ 3-2 loss to the Washington Capitals at Capital One Arena. Although the Golden Knights made a push in the third period after falling behind 3-0 in the first two, that wasn’t good enough for coach Bruce Cassidy, particularly from those returning from Team USA and Team Canada.

“Listen, these are high-end players,” Cassidy. “They’ve got to be ready to play.”

Cassidy is optimistic those five players will rebound when the Golden Knights continue their five-game road trip against the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Paints Arena on Sunday (1 p.m. ET; HBO MAX, TNT, SN360, TVAS). They had the night off when Vegas resumed play after the Olympic break with a 6-4 win at the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday. 

In fact, Eichel and Hanifin stayed in Washington after being honored with Team USA at the White House on Tuesday and rejoined the rest of the Golden Knights when they arrived Thursday. Then, they jumped into the heat of the stretch run toward the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Vegas (28-16-14), which had a three-game winning streak snapped Friday, leads the Edmonton Oilers by four points for first in the Pacific Division with 23 games remaining.

Determined to put themselves in the best position to win the Stanley Cup for the second time in four seasons, the Golden Knights understand the importance of this trip and winning as many games as possible down the stretch.

“I’m excited to get back into the thick of it here,” said Stone, the Vegas captain. “It's an important time of year.”

Stone didn’t think it was weird skating on Eichel’s line again so soon after such an emotional gold medal game on Sunday. Returning their focus to the NHL might be the best way for the players from Canada to move past their disappointment. 

There was some shifting of motivational gears required for the U.S. players, though, following what Eichel called “just a long dream that you think you’d never be able to experience.”

Although the Olympic tournament was short, Eichel compared the commitment required to win the gold medal to what it took for Vegas to win the Stanley Cup in 2023. 

“It was a similar feeling of it didn’t matter who the hero was,” said Eichel, who had six points (two goals, four assists) in six games at the Olympics. “It didn’t matter what happened. It was about winning and it was about the team, and everyone was just 100 percent bought in. … It reminded me a lot of the feeling I had when I was in the locker room that year we won.”

The difference, Eichel said, is that after winning the Cup, the players had the offseason to relax and digest what they accomplished. The winners -- and losers -- in the gold medal game had only a few days to process everything before returning to play in NHL games.

“You just wonder, will there be a letdown?” Cassidy, an assistant for Team Canada, said before the game.

Maybe that letdown happened Friday. Hanifin believes the Olympics will have a positive impact for Vegas in the long run, though.

“It was an amazing few days, and unreal experience,” said Hanifin, who had three points (one goal, two assists) in six games for Team USA. “But I think for me and Jack, and even ‘Stoney,’ Mitch and ‘Theo,’ it’s just to take what we learned and felt in that game and bring it to our team and try to help us propel us into a good playoff run.”

That’s the Golden Knights’ unified objective with all their Olympians back in the fold. They had eight players go to the Games, including forward Tomas Hertl (Team Czechia), defenseman Rasmus Andersson (Team Sweden) and goalie Akira Schmid (Team Switzerland).

Hanifin said there were “no hard feelings” among the players who battled so hard for that gold medal. The U.S. and Canada players went through something similar last season when they returned from the 4 Nations Face-Off. Hanifin, Eichel, Stone, Theodore and Marner (who was with the Toronto Maple Leafs at the time) also played in that tournament. 

The players from Canada came back as winners that time after prevailing 3-2 in overtime against the U.S. in the final. 

“Those experiences are so much fun to get with your nation's teammates and get to meet some of the best players around the world and be able to share the locker room with the best players in the world and share the ice with them,” said Stone, who had four points (two goals, two assists) in six games at the Olympics. “You just come back and it’s business as usual, and you're trying to win another championship, and that’s the Stanley Cup.”

And, though winning the gold represented the fulfillment of a dream for Eichel and Hanifin, it didn’t make them any less hungry to win the Cup this season.

“Our goal at the beginning of the season is to be the last team standing at the end of the season, and that hasn't changed for us this year,” Eichel said. “The expectation is always that, so I'm just excited to be back doing this.”