7 Observations: Marner, Eichel, Dorofeyev Shine in Shootout Loss

The Vegas Golden Knights (0-0-1) kicked off their season on the first game of a back-to-back. Despite a slow start and two multi-goal deficits, they clawed their way back into the fight and took the lead. Ultimately, the Golden Knights handed the game away and fell to the Los Angeles Kings (1-1-0) 6-5 in a shootout. 

The Golden Knights came out with Opening Night jitters and started poorly. They were outshot 10-7 in the first, and they didn’t record a shot on goal until over seven minutes into the period. 

The Kings took the lead 4:41 into the first period after William Karlsson took the game’s first penalty. On the power play, Andrei Kuzmenko walked right down Las Vegas Blvd and sniped one past Adin Hill after Noah Hanifin failed to block Kuzmenko’s shot. 

The Kings doubled their lead at 11:57 in the first period. Kaedan Korczak pinched but couldn’t hold the puck in the zone, and Jeremy Lauzon drifted to center to retrieve it. He turned the puck over to Quinton Byfield, who promptly took off and scored on a breakaway. 

The Golden Knights scored their first goal of the season 2:10 into the second period. Cody Ceci couldn’t connect with Philip Danault; Pavel Dorofeyev collected the puck at center ice, drove into the offensive zone, and fired a shot through Brian Dumoulin that beat Anton Forsberg. 

The Kings regained their two-goal lead at 13:41 in the second. Brian Dumoulin blocked Shea Theodore’s shot, and Jeff Malott carried the puck into the offensive zone and drove the net. Alex Turcotte found a trailing Joel Armia, who blasted a shot that went off Malott and in.

The tide shifted less than a minute later when Alex Turcotte committed a major boarding penalty against Jeremy Lauzon. Kaedan Korczak took a retaliating roughing penalty, but after two minutes of 4-on-4, the Golden Knights headed to a three-minute power play.

At 17:32 in the second, the Golden Knights pulled to within a goal. Jack Eichel pulled Trevor Moore out of position and found Mark Stone at the goal line. Stone threaded a cross-ice pass through Mikey Anderson to Pavel Dorofeyev, who scored his second goal of the night.

Still on the power play a minute and 42 seconds later, the Golden Knights tied the game. It was nearly the exact same play as their second goal. Eichel worked the puck to Stone below the goal line; Stone found Dorofeyev for his third of the night. 

After completing the multi-goal comeback, the Golden Knights had all the momentum. And just over 5 minutes into the third period, fans got a taste of the magic to come over the next eight years. 

Ivan Barbashev powered into the zone and left the puck for Mitch Marner. Marner surveyed the ice and threaded a cross-ice pass to Jack Eichel, who blasted a one-timer past Anton Forsberg. 

Less than four minutes later, the Barbashev-Eichel-Marner line shone once more, and the Golden Knights took a two-goal lead. Mitch Marner broke the puck out, drove into the offensive zone, and drew two defenders to him. This left Ivan Barbashev and Jack Eichel free to play catch 2-on-1 against Alex Laferriere, and Barbashev finished off the pretty passing play.

However, as matchups between these two teams are wont to do, this game went off the rails. Up two goals, Mark Stone drew a tripling penalty 10:15 into the third period, and the Golden Knights headed back to the power play. Shea Theodore drove into the zone and turned the puck over; Trevor Moore scored shorthanded on a breakaway. 

The Kings tied the game with six minutes remaining in the third period. Noah Hanifin got caught out of position and couldn’t break up Andrei Kuzmenko’s pass to Quinton Byfield. Byfield drove into the zone, blew around Zach Whitecloud, and found Brandt Clarke crashing the net for an easy backdoor tap-in.

Overtime was fast and furious. Both teams traded chances, and the first whistle stoppage didn’t come for over three and a half minutes.

Ultimately, this game received the ending it deserved: a shootout. Adrian Kempe and Trevor Moore scored for the Kings; only Pavel Dorofeyev converted for the Golden Knights. 

Three stars of the game: Pavel Dorofeyev, Jack Eichel, Trevor Moore

7 Golden Knights Observations

1. It’s tough to draw concrete conclusions from the first game of the season, especially one against a team that has already played. In the first period, the rust was on full display for the Golden Knights. They got back into the fight and tied the game on a major penalty (oh, the irony) and then handed it away. 

2. Jack Eichel, freshly signed to an extension, was on full display tonight. He enjoyed his second straight four-point Opening Night with a goal and three assists. Eichel finished with five shots on goal, and if he keeps shooting the puck like this, he very well could record his first 40-goal season.

3. Pavel Dorofeyev clearly didn’t need any preseason reps. He picked up right where he left off, scoring twice from his spot on the power play and once with a deceptive wrister. Dorofeyev’s hat trick– the first recorded by a Golden Knight in a season-opener– was the first of the 2025-26 regular season. He’s on pace for 264 goals, which is absolutely sustainable. 

4. The five forward power play got off to the exact start the Golden Knights wanted. Beyond converting twice, they looked sharp against a Kings team that is usually solid on the penalty kill.

5. Adin Hill didn’t have a great game. However, he also didn’t have an especially bad one. Look at the goals allowed– two clean breakaways, a backdoor tap-in, and one where he was screened by his own teammate. Would you have liked him to stop one of the breakaways? Sure, maybe. 

6. It wasn’t a great game for Noah Hanifin. He was on the ice for three of the five Kings’ goals, and he was at least partially responsible for two of them.

7. Mitch Marner recorded his first point as a Golden Knight. He and Jack Eichel are going to be quite the team. The Golden Knights typically aren’t this sloppy defensively– they’ll clean that up– but now they have the ability to outscore their problems.