Golden Knights Week: An 8-2-0 Start Under Ryan Craig, Stone's Hat Trick, a Rookie Scoring Leader, and Silver Knights Wins

by Ryan Rose

What Happened This Week in Las Vegas Hockey

Vegas 6, Pittsburgh 2 (Saturday, Oct. 17). The Golden Knights jumped on the Penguins early. Defenseman Rasmus Andersson scored just 1:06 into the game. Noah Hanifin scored about three minutes later. Jack Eichel and Mark Stone assisted on both goals. The team says that is the first time in franchise history that two players each had multiple assists in the first five minutes of a game. Stone then scored on the power play late in the first period, and Vegas led 3-0 after one.

Pittsburgh scored on a power play in the second period. Less than two minutes later, Connelly broke in alone and scored an unassisted breakaway goal to the top corner. Shea Theodore added a one-timer to make it 5-1. Ville Koivunen scored for Pittsburgh in the third, and Brett Howden finished it with an empty-net goal, his fourth goal in his last six games. Adin Hill stopped 22 of 24 shots. He has now won four straight games to start his season. Eichel also played the 700th game of his NHL career.

Vegas 6, Calgary 2 (Thursday, Oct. 15). Two nights earlier, Howden scored just 26 seconds into the game at T-Mobile Arena. Eichel added a shorthanded breakaway goal in the first period, and Braeden Bowman scored on the power play in the second. Then Stone took over. He scored three straight goals in the third period for a natural hat trick. The first was a tap-in off a back-door pass from Eichel. The second came off a rebound of a Noah Hanifin shot. The third came about four minutes later. NHL.com says it is the second hat trick of Stone's career. Carter Hart stopped 28 of 30 shots for his fourth win.

The rookie. Trevor Connelly was the Golden Knights' first-round pick in 2024. He set records with the Henderson Silver Knights last season. His breakaway goal on Saturday was his fourth of the season. According to the team, he now leads all NHL rookies with four goals and seven points.

The Silver Knights. On Wednesday, Oct. 14, the Henderson Silver Knights shut out the Coachella Valley Firebirds 4-0 at Lee's Family Forum in Henderson. Matyas Sapovaliv scored twice. Alexander Holtz scored on the power play, and Joe Fleming scored a shorthanded goal on a penalty shot. Goalie Carl Lindbom made 26 saves for the shutout, which ended Coachella Valley's four-game point streak. On Saturday, Oct. 17, Henderson won 5-2 at the Ontario Reign at Toyota Arena. Mitch McLain scored twice, Jackson Hallum, Holtz and Jakub Demek also scored, and Cameron Whitehead got the win in relief. The Silver Knights say it was their first road win of the season.

The youth tournament. TCS Hockey's Halloween Vegas Bash runs Oct. 30 to Nov. 1, 2026, at City National Arena and America First Center. It has divisions from 9U to 18U, at B, BB, A and AA levels.

Golden Knights players celebrate one of Mark Stone's three third-period goals against the Calgary Flames at T-Mobile Arena

This Week by the Numbers

Here is the week in quick hits, all pulled from the team and league game stories:

8-2-0: the Golden Knights' record after Saturday. Pittsburgh fell to 3-5-1.
Two straight 6-2 wins: over Calgary on Thursday and Pittsburgh on Saturday, both at T-Mobile Arena.
3 goals: Mark Stone's natural hat trick, all in the third period against Calgary.
4 straight wins: Adin Hill's record to open his season.
700 games: Jack Eichel's NHL career total after Saturday.
4 goals and 7 points: Trevor Connelly's totals, the best among NHL rookies.
3 assists: Ivan Barbashev's total against Calgary.
4 points: Brett Howden's line against Calgary, two goals and two assists.
26 saves: Carl Lindbom's shutout for the Silver Knights against Coachella Valley.
6,274: the crowd in Ontario, per the Reign, for Henderson's first road win.

Mitch Marner also kept rolling. He had two assists on Saturday and stretched his point streak to six games, according to the team. Against Calgary, he extended a six-game multi-point streak against the Flames and now has 15 career points against them. Shea Theodore finished Saturday at plus-3. William Karlsson and Brayden McNabb assisted on Theodore's goal.

The two wins also showed off the special teams. Vegas scored a shorthanded goal and a power-play goal against Calgary, then another power-play goal against Pittsburgh. Down in Henderson, the Silver Knights got goals on the power play and shorthanded in the same game. That is the kind of all-around effort coaches love to see this early in a season.

Golden Knights players hug on the ice at T-Mobile Arena as flame jets fire after a goal against the Calgary Flames

Why It Matters to Las Vegas Residents

The Golden Knights are more than a sports team here. They are something the whole valley shares. You see the gold jerseys at the grocery store in Summerlin, at youth games in Henderson, and in office break rooms in Spring Valley. A hot start in October gives people something fun to talk about with neighbors and co-workers.

The numbers this year are fun ones. The team says Vegas scored 41 goals through 10 games. The only other time the franchise scored at that pace was 2024-25, when it had 47. Vegas has scored 17 goals in its last three games and has won four straight at home. After the Calgary game, Eichel had 16 points, which NHL.com said was second in the league. He also led the league in faceoff wins. He added two more assists on Saturday.

The Connelly story hits close to home in a different way. He played for the Henderson Silver Knights, the American Hockey League team that plays at Lee's Family Forum in Henderson. Local fans could watch him grow up as a pro for the price of an AHL ticket. Now he leads the NHL rookie class. That is the whole point of having a farm team right down the road. When a young player moves up, Henderson fans already know his name.

The Silver Knights wins matter for Henderson families, too. Lee's Family Forum is a smaller arena than T-Mobile Arena. For a lot of families, a Silver Knights game is an easier and closer night out than a VGK game on the Strip. A winning team makes that night out more fun. And the youth tournament at City National Arena and America First Center is a reminder of how many kids in Clark County now play the game. Ten years ago, that was hard to picture in the desert.

Background and History

This is Ryan Craig's first season as head coach of the Golden Knights. He took over from Bruce Cassidy. SinBin.vegas looked at how Vegas started over the last few seasons, and the pattern is strong. Through eight games, Vegas was 6-2-0 in 2022-23, 7-0-1 in 2023-24, 5-2-1 in 2024-25, and 5-1-2 in 2025-26. This season, Craig's team was 6-2-0 with 12 points and a plus-10 goal differential through eight games. That means Vegas has had at least 11 points through eight games every season since 2022-23. Two more wins since then pushed the record to 8-2-0.

SinBin.vegas said Craig has balanced the lineup and given players a chance to earn their roles. The site also passed along a lighter note. A RotoGrinders ranking named Craig the second most handsome coach in the NHL. It is not the kind of stat that wins games, but it did get people talking.

Craig also has a connection to Connelly. In the SinBin.vegas piece, Craig said he had watched Connelly play at the American Hockey League level. That matters. A coach who has seen a young player up close in the minors may be quicker to trust him in the NHL. So far, Connelly has paid that trust back with goals.

Stone's hat trick has history behind it, too. He is the captain, and he and Eichel have been one of the best pairs the franchise has ever had. After the Calgary game, NHL.com said the two had been on the same goal 114 times, the fourth most in franchise history. The hat trick also tied Stone with William Karlsson for the third most multi-goal periods in team history.

The Henderson Silver Knights have been the Golden Knights' AHL team since the club moved its affiliate to Henderson. This season, Joel Ward is in his first year behind the Silver Knights bench. Two straight wins, one at home and one on the road, is a good sign for a new coach still learning his group.

What Happens Next

The Golden Knights host the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday, Oct. 20, at 7:30 p.m. at T-Mobile Arena. It is the last game of a three-game homestand, and it airs on ESPN. Radio is on X 107.9 and 105.7 Maxima. Next week brings two theme nights. Noche de los VGK is set for Tuesday, Oct. 27, against the Ottawa Senators. The Nevada Day game is Friday, Oct. 30, against the New Jersey Devils at T-Mobile Arena.

Watch Hill's win streak and Connelly's rookie scoring race. Both are early-season stories that could grow. Also watch Stone. He had a three-game point streak and seven points on the season after Saturday, per the team.

The TCS Halloween Vegas Bash runs the same weekend as the Nevada Day game. Youth teams will play at City National Arena, the Golden Knights' practice rink at 1550 S. Pavilion Center Drive near Downtown Summerlin, and at America First Center in Henderson. The organizer lists team entry fees of $2,050 for 9U to 12U, $2,250 for 13U to 14U, and $2,500 for 15U to 18U. TCS has not posted a team count or spectator pricing, so check with the rinks before you go.

Ryan's Take

I coach my son's 8U hockey team here in Las Vegas, so weeks like this one are fun for me. When the Golden Knights win, I hear about it from the kids at practice. They want to shoot like Stone and score breakaway goals like Connelly. That is the real gift of this team. It made hockey a local sport. Kids now grow up skating in Summerlin and Henderson, and parents plan their weekends around the rink.

From a real estate side, I see this every week. Families moving to Las Vegas ask me about schools, parks and commute times. More and more of them also ask how far a home is from a rink. City National Arena in Summerlin, America First Center in Henderson and Lee's Family Forum in Henderson all matter to those families. A short drive to early-morning ice time is a real quality-of-life point. If you are a hockey family, it is worth thinking about where the rinks are before you pick a neighborhood.

What You Can Do

Catch a game. The Golden Knights play Tampa Bay at T-Mobile Arena on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. If you cannot get to the Strip, the game is on ESPN. For a closer and easier night out, check the Henderson Silver Knights schedule at Lee's Family Forum. It is a great way to see the next Trevor Connelly before he gets called up.

If your kids play, keep the TCS Halloween Vegas Bash on your radar for Oct. 30 to Nov. 1. Even if your child's team is not entered, expect busy rinks and parking lots at City National Arena and America First Center that weekend. If you book ice time or skate lessons at those rinks, plan around it. Visiting teams will also need food, so local restaurants near both rinks may be busier than usual.

Want to follow along between games? The Golden Knights post a recap after every game on their team site at NHL.com, and the Silver Knights post game breakdowns on their own site. Those are the same sources we used for this roundup, and they are free to read. They are the quickest way to check the latest record before you head to a watch party or a game.

If you have a young skater at home who caught the bug this week, this is a great time to start. Many valley rinks run learn-to-skate and learn-to-play programs for little kids. Call your closest rink and ask what is open for the winter. A hot Golden Knights start has a way of filling those classes fast.

And if you are thinking about a move, ask about the rinks. Whether you want Summerlin, Henderson or somewhere in between, being close to the ice can make a big difference for a hockey family.

Have questions about how this affects your home or neighborhood? Reach out to Ryan Rose or text/call 702-747-5921 anytime. Ryan Rose | Real Broker, LLC | 702-747-5921 | ryan@rosehomeslv.com | rosehomeslv.com