Eichel scores twice in Golden Knights win against Jets

LAS VEGAS --Jack Eichel scored two goals for the Vegas Golden Knights in a 5-2 win against the Winnipeg Jets at T-Mobile Arena on Thursday.

"We had a good start," Eichel said. "We came out and played well in the first 20, and we were able to find a way to win from there."
William Karlsson and Jonathan Marchessault each had a goal and an assist, and Alex Pietrangelo had two assists for Vegas (4-1-0). Adin Hill made 26 saves.
"We had our legs. I thought we were playing the right way," Golden Knights coach Bruce Cassidy said. "All in all, I liked our energy and (we) approached the game the right way with our start."

Neal Pionk had a goal and an assist for Winnipeg (2-2-0), which was coming off a 4-3 overtime win at the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday. David Rittich made 27 saves in his season debut.
"We weren't really ready to go, obviously," Jets assistant coach Scott Arniel said. "Really sloppy hockey. We didn't execute in any area. We were turning pucks over. … Lesson learned. This league is a tough league, and if you don't come prepared to play, those things will happen."
Eichel made it 1-0 at 4:23 of the first period when he took a pass from Reilly Smith on a 3-on-1 and shot glove side from the slot.
"It's 3-on-1, so a lot of times you think, 'Well, we're going to score,' but it doesn't always work out that way," Cassidy said. "I like that it was one simple play. 'Smithy' freezes the D, gets it into the middle of the ice, and it's on net in a hurry."
Karlsson extended the lead to 2-0 at 6:11, scoring on a one-timer after receiving a backhand pass from behind the net by Michael Amadio.
Chandler Stephenson then made it 3-0 at 10:07 when his centering pass deflected in off Brenden Dillon's skate.
"I did not intend to do that. It was a lucky bounce," Stephenson said. "Usually, you got to get lucky to get something going."
Eichel pushed the lead to 4-0 at 15:17 of the first after he intercepted an errant pass from Rittich.

Pierre-Luc Dubois scored his first of the season to make it 4-1 at 7:23 of the second period, and Pionk cut it to 4-2 at 10:34 of the third period.
Marchessault scored an empty-net goal at 19:38 for the 5-2 final.
"Every team will have a push," Cassidy said. "I thought we were fine after 4-0. We weren't great, but we weren't poor."
NOTES:Vegas defenseman Shea Theodore played in his 400th NHL game. … The Golden Knights have outscored their opponents 8-0 in the first period in their last three games.