LAS VEGAS (AP) — Jack Eichel had a goal and an assist, Adin Hill made 22 saves and the Vegas Golden Knights beat the Anaheim Ducks 4-1 on Saturday night.
Chandler Stephenson and Shea Theodore also had a goal and an assist, and Jonas Rondbjerg got his first goal of the season. The defending champion Golden Knights, playing their third game in five nights, improved to 3-0-0 with all the wins by identical scores.
Hill improved to 6-0-1 in his career against Anaheim.
Mason McTavish scored and John Gibson made 34 saves for Anaheim in its season opener. Gibson dropped to 4-17-5 in his career against Vegas.
Eichel scored his second of the season when he skated through and around Anaheim’s defense, dangled around Gibson, and fired the puck into a wide-open net for a power-play goal with 2 seconds left in the first period.
Trevor Zegras gave the Ducks their first good look at a goal early in the second when he beat Vegas’ defense with a slick pass to himself through his legs but couldn’t finish with a backhand attempt on Hill.
Stephenson put Vegas in front by two on a perfect 2-on-1 with Paul Cotter. After passing to Cotter across the slot, Stephenson took the return feed for a short tap into a wide-open net.
Theodore, who started his career in Anaheim and was playing in his 400th game as a member of the Golden Knights, scored his first of the season with a blistering one-timer from the top, Vegas’ second power-play goal of the night. Theodore’s assist on Eichel’s goal left him one shy of 200 helpers for his career.
Anaheim answered less than a minute later when McTavish cleaned up a rebound in the slot to beat Hill.
Rondbjerg’s empty-net goal provided the final margin.
UP NEXT
Ducks: Host Carolina on Sunday night.
Golden Knights: Host Dallas on Tuesday night.
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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL
