The Vegas Golden Knights had two objectives coming into Tuesday night’s season opener against the visiting Seattle Kraken. One was to raise their 2023 Stanley Cup Champions banner to the rafters of T-Mobile Arena, where it will hang forever. The ceremony would be the final step of the celebration of a remarkable run that resulted in the first championship in franchise history.
The second was to kick off Year 7 with a win, just like Vegas had done in five of its previous six seasons.
Much like they did in last year’s playoff run, the Golden Knights hit their goals, took care of business and did so as a team. They stood arm in arm while the banner was lifted, and they jumped out to a 1-0-0 start to the 2023-24 season with a 4-1 victory against Seattle.
First period
Understandably, the Golden Knights got off to a slow start following an emotional pre-game ceremony. But just like he did throughout the postseason, Adin Hill held down the fort, stopping all 11 shots he faced in the opening frame.
Eventually, the Golden Knights found their game.
Chandler Stephenson lit the lamp for the first time in Year 7 on a fantastic passing play with linemates Brett Howden and Mark Stone.
The Golden Knights doubled their lead when Conn Smythe Trophy winner Jonathan Marchessault knocked the puck off a Kraken stick, deflecting it into the net. At first glance, it appeared as though forward Brandon Tanev shot it into his own net, but an active stick by Marchessault gave Vegas a 2-0 lead through 20 minutes.
The Kraken led 29-16 in shot attempts, but the Golden Knights made theirs count.
Second period
Less than two minutes into the middle frame, Brayden McNabb sent a perfect tape-to-tape outlet pass to set up Ivan Barbashev on a partial breakaway. Though Barbashev was being harassed by Kraken defenseman Vince Dunn on the backcheck, he maintained control of the puck and fired an absolute laser to beat Philipp Grubauer top-shelf, improving Vegas’ lead to 3-0.
But the Kraken broke through 8:19 into the period, as former 40-goal scorer Jared McCann took advantage of a bad bounce and beat Hill from the low slot. The puck deflected off Marchessault and landed right on McCann’s stick.
Despite being outplayed for stretches of the frame, the Golden Knights took a 3-1 lead into the second intermission.
Third period
William Carrier missed most of the second period and was not on the bench to start the third. The team announced in the final frame that he had sustained an upper-body injury and would not return.
Roughly six minutes into the third, Howden was assessed a match penalty for an illegal check to the head of Tanev, who was down on the ice for a while after the high, blindside hit. As a result, the Golden Knights had to kill off a five-minute major, and they were limited to 10 forwards for the remaining 13:58 of regulation.
But the Vegas penalty kill that went 14-for-14 in the Stanley Cup Final picked up right where it left off, as Vegas killed off the major and held the Kraken off the board, limiting their scoring chances to primarily low-danger bids. Hill turned aside all six shots he faced.
Hill had a particularly strong sequence later in the period when Matty Beniers broke in alone. Hill kicked out his pad to make the initial stop and then slid across the crease to shut down Jordan Eberle’s follow-up bid and freeze the puck.
The Kraken pulled Grubauer with just over 90 seconds remaining in regulation, but Jack Eichel hit the empty net to seal the 4-1 win for Vegas.
The takeaway
The Golden Knights raised the banner and then kicked off the defense of their title with a win. Many teams are unable to overcome the emotion of the banner ceremony, but that wasn’t the case for the Golden Knights, who secured their fifth consecutive win in a season opener.
The team that hoisted the 2023 Stanley Cup won by committee, and the story was no different tonight. Four different players scored for Vegas (Stephenson, Marchessault, Barbashev and Eichel), and an additional three found the scoresheet, including Howden, McNabb and Mark Stone.
Vegas is now 8-1-0 all-time against the Kraken and 6-1-0 in home openers.
Though there was a bit of a sour note in the third period after Howden’s unnecessary headshot, Vegas killed off the major in convincing fashion and then held on to the lead for the rest of the game.
It was an up-and-down contest for the Golden Knights, but they did what they do best: they found a way to win. It may not have been an emphatic statement win in front of the home crowd like the 9-3 thrashing they gave the Florida Panthers in Game 5, but Vegas did a number of things well and ultimately executed when it mattered most. The penalty kill came up huge in the third period, which was Vegas’ best of the night.
The Kraken led 71-62 in shot attempts, 33-28 in shots and 43-31 in scoring chances at all strengths; by the end of the game, the Golden Knights had a slight edge in expected goal share (51.52 percent).
Hill was as solid as ever in net and finished the game with 32 saves on 33 shots for a .970 save percentage.
Eichel also had an impressive game, playing more than four minutes on the penalty kill as his all-around game continues to evolve.
The extent of Carrier’s injury likely won’t be revealed until tomorrow. After the game, Bruce Cassidy pointed out that it’s never a good sign when a player doesn’t return, but he hopes it’s not a long-term issue. Vegas is already without Alec Martinez and Zach Whitecloud.
Additionally, Howden could be out of commission as well. A match penalty automatically triggers a review, and based on the hit, he very well may face supplemental discipline. If the league elects to suspend him, Vegas may have to call someone up depending on Carrier’s status. Pavel Dorofeyev is Vegas’ 13th forward and will be the first to draw in after an impressive camp and preseason.
The Golden Knights are next in action Thursday night in San Jose.
Statistics courtesy of Natural Stat Trick