3 takeaways from Knights' win: Avs crushed by flurry of goals

Mark Stone, Victor Olofsson and Ivan Barbashev each scored twice and Jack Eichel had four assists to push the Golden Knights to an 8-4 season-opening win over the Colorado Avalanche at T-Mobile Arena on Wednesday.

The victory was the Knights’ sixth straight in an opener. They’re 7-1 all-time in their first game of a season. Their lone loss came against the Philadelphia Flyers on Oct. 4, 2018.

Defenseman Shea Theodore added three assists for the Knights, who tied a franchise record by scoring eight goals. The only other time they did so was Nov. 27, 2018 at Chicago. Goaltender Adin Hill made 27 saves in Wednesday’s win.

“If you’re going to win some games, you have to do it in different ways,” Stone said. “The first one’s a shootout. We’ll take it and learn some things.”

Colorado right wing Mikko Rantanen had three goals, while goaltender Alexandar Georgiev was pulled before the third period after giving up five goals on 16 shots.

The Avalanche took a 1-0 lead on a one-timer from Rantanen with 9:12 remaining in the first, but it didn’t take the home team long to find an answer.

Olofsson, who signed a one-year deal with the Knights this offseason, scored 27 seconds after Rantanen’s goal. He retrieved the puck behind the net, skated to the left circle and fired the puck past Georgiev.

The Knights’ top line, which got off to a slow start, then caught fire before the first intermission.

Barbashev buried a feed from defenseman Noah Hanifin to give the Knights a 2-1 lead with 1:28 remaining in the first period. The team scored again 25 seconds later when Eichel passed to Stone on an odd-man rush.

The Knights and Avalanche proceeded to trade goals in the second period.

Rantanen’s power-play goal 4:15 into the frame proceeded defenseman Zach Whitecloud’s tally 1:34 later. Center Casey Mittelstadt again cut Colorado’s deficit to one goal with 2:28 left in the second, but Olofsson scored on the power play with 14 seconds remaining to give the Knights a 5-3 lead at the second intermission.

Rantanen scored his third goal on the power play 6:59 into the third period to again put the Avalanche down just a goal. Stone put the Knights ahead 6-4 just 1:30 later, then Barbashev sealed the result by scoring with 6:06 remaining in the third period.

Center Brett Howden added an empty-net goal with 36 seconds left.

Here are three takeaways from the win:

1. Specials teams have highs and lows

The Knights’ new-look power play got off to a strong start by scoring on two of its three opportunities. The penalty kill, on the other hand, allowed Colorado to score on two of its three power plays.

Both areas still need some work. But the Knights showed Wednesday they could be dangerous on the man advantage this season if they continue to attack the net.

2. Stick don’t lie

The Knights had a goal taken off the board in the third period when left wing Pavel Dorofeyev was called for high sticking on the play.

The penalty led to Rantanen’s third goal.

A high-sticking call later helped the Knights put things away. Avalanche defenseman Devon Toews was given a double minor for high-sticking Barbashev and Stone scored on the subsequent power play.

3. Seventh heaven

The Knights have had no issues scoring against Colorado recently.

They also won 7-0 against the Avalanche at home last year on Nov. 4. The win was one of the two times the Knights scored seven goals in a game last season.

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