Taking Care Of Business: Golden Knights Start Season With Third Straight Win, 4-1, Over Anaheim With Attendance Announced At 18,033 Saturday

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By Alan Snel, LVSportsBiz.com

At the surface, the Anaheim vs Knights game Saturday had the look of a trap game.

It was the first VGK home game after Tuesday’s spine-tingling, emotional-goosebump, banner-raising season-opener for the defending Stanley Cup champs.

And even if tonight’s arena energy was no match for Tuesday’s memorable Stanley Cup banner game, the Golden Knights still found the juice to squeeze two points out of Saturday’s match with Anaheim.

The Knights won their third straight game to open the 2023-24 season in front of an announced crowd of 18,033 — about 800 less than opening night when the Golden Knights took care of business against the Seattle Kraken.

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The flashiest moment tonight was when VGK center Jack Eichel performed some stick work wizardry to score a power play goal with a mere 1.3 seconds left in period one to give the Knights a 1-0 lead after the first period.

Then VGK forward Paul Cotter fed linemate Chandler Stephenson with a sweet pass, which allowed Stephenson to casually steer the puck into an unguarded Anaheim net with Ducks goalie John Gibson out of position in the second period.

In the third period, VGK defenseman Shea Theodore blasted a perfectly placed shot past Gibson for a Vegas 3-0 lead.

Anaheim’s sole goal was notched by 20-year-old Mason McTavish.

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The Knights were shorthanded tonight as three of Vegas’ six top defensemen were out — Alex Pietrangelo joined Zach Whitecloud and Alec Martinez as out of the game.

But VGK goalie Adin Hill was solid in net.

Jonas Rondbjerg slipped in an empty net goal and that was your final.

Vegas 4 Anaheim 1

At his postgame presser, VGK coach Bruce Cassidy declined to say whether he will continue to alternate goalies Adin Hill and Logan Thompson every other game.

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