Vegas Golden Knights center Jack Eichel (9) celebrates after he scores past Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Casey DeSmith (1) during the first period of a NHL hockey game at T-Mobile Arena Thursday, Jan. 5, 2023.
Published Thursday, Jan. 5, 2023 | 9:35 p.m.
Updated Thursday, Jan. 5, 2023 | 10:46 p.m.
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Inserting Jack Eichel back into the lineup wouldn't be a problem for the Golden Knights. Hoping that he wouldn't slow down a blistering power play unit was something else to consider.
It took 11 minutes for Eichel to shake off the rust of missing 11 games, and it was like he never left. Eichel returned after missing a month to score a goal and two assists — one of them on the power play — giving the Golden Knights a 5-2 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins at T-Mobile Arena on Thursday.
"I felt good," Eichel said. "For not playing for a few weeks, I think you always have a lot of energy. But not everything's always as crisp as you hoped."
The Golden Knights (27-12-2) won for the fourth straight time at home after losing six of their previous seven. Thursday was the start of a season-long seven-game homestand for the No. 1 team in the Western Conference, and they've scored five goals each outing during this winning streak on home ice.
Once again, they were led by their dynamic star.
Eichel hadn't played since Dec. 9 when he sustained a lower-body injury while being treated for a facial injury after taking a puck up high in Columbus on Nov. 28.
At the time Eichel left that early December matchup against Philadelphia, he was having the best start to a season of his career with 29 points in 27 games.
"He's an elite player in the league. He's excited to play again," coach Bruce Cassidy said of getting Eichel back. "He was having, I would say, an all-star-type of year when he started."
Much has changed in the time Eichel was gone. Chandler Stephenson turned into a point-per-game player after moving back to first-line center; Mark Stone is on pace to have the best offensive season of his career; even Michael Amadio had a seven-game point streak going.
That line was doing so well that there was no need to put Eichel back in-between Stone and Stephenson.
Lined up Thursday with Nicolas Roy and Reilly Smith, Eichel didn't miss a beat.
Eichel took a pass from Roy in the neutral zone and beat Pittsburgh goalie Casey DeSmith for his 14th goal of the season at 5:17 of the first. That came less than four minutes after Phil Kessel opened the scoring at 1:52, giving Vegas a 2-0 lead.
"I thought we played well together," Eichel said of himself and his linemates. "We created some offense, and I thought it was a good game for our whole group."
The Golden Knights operated at a 30% scoring rate on the power play while Eichel was out. Though eight of his points coming into Thursday were on the power play, Eichel's methodical approach could be viewed as a hindrance in not getting the puck off his stick quickly enough, going for the pass that might not be there.
Eichel wasn't a liability on the Golden Knights' only power play Thursday, finding Stone at the goal line to set up Stephenson in the slot at 11:20 of the first for a 3-0 lead.
What seemed like a broken play turned into what Eichel has watched from the press box for the last month. The Golden Knights' power play has risen to a 25.7% rate this season, good for seventh in the NHL.
"I thought our power play was great in December. We want it to be a threat," Eichel said. "We want teams to feel like they can't take penalties against us. It's been working. I think we've been moving the puck quickly, and we've been finding some chemistry."
Stephenson, who took over the reins as the Golden Knights leading scorer in Eichel's absence, registered his 40th point of the season and is well on pace to surpass his career-high of 64 points set last season.
Stone scored his 17th goal of the season with nine seconds left in the second period to give him a two-point night to extend his point streak to seven games. It's the fourth time Stone has had a multipoint game during this streak.
Never say never on Eichel reuniting with Stephenson and Stone, but Cassidy said he didn't want to go away with the production that Amadio gave that line. Though his career-high seven-game point streak ended Thursday, Amadio is still on the best run of his career.
Lost in the offensive hoopla was Adin Hill redeeming himself with a 38-save effort. Hill's last appearance saw him pulled after giving up two goals on five shots in a 3-2 shootout loss in Anaheim on Dec. 28.
The Penguins dominated possession in the second period, but Hill stopped all 20 shots he saw en route to his season-high in saves. His shutout bid ended four minutes into the third on a goal from Ty Smith.
Sidney Crosby added a late goal with 1:29 to go, but that didn't diminish the overall performance from the goalie.
"He was ready to go, prepared to play," Cassidy said. I thought we got some puck luck in the second period that we hadn't gotten in this building earlier in the year. We were a little bit fortunate at times. As a goalie, you need some of that. He made saves when we weren't sharp in the second. A competitive guy in there. It looked like he was dialed in every shot."
While the Golden Knights have been able to remain atop the Western Conference standings with Eichel hurt, the Golden Knights are getting healthy as they hit the halfway mark of the season.
Rookie forward Paul Cotter returned after missing three weeks with an upper-body injury and had a goal and an assist. Jonathan Marchessault has been a noncontact participant in practice but could be close to returning next week.
Eichel's return and production are once again proving vital to the success of the Golden Knights. Perhaps that's going to be the difference in how this season ends for them compared to last.
"From start to finish, we had a really good hockey game," Cassidy said. "We've got some time to get [to a full 60-minute game], but that is the goal: get healthy, and get your game in order to where you're as close to 60 minutes as you can be while playing to your identity. That'll be the push in the second half."
Danny Webster can be reached at 702-259-8814 or [email protected]. Follow Danny on Twitter at twitter.com/DannyWebster21.
