Barbashev, Stone and Olofsson each score two, Golden Knights top Avalanche 8-4 in season-opener

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Vegas Golden Knights center Ivan Barbashev (49) and defenseman Nicolas Hague (14) celebrate with teammates after Barbashev’s goal after during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Colorado Avalanche Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ian Maule)

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Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Shea Theodore (27) attempts to steal the puck from Colorado Avalanche left wing Joel Kiviranta (94) during the first period of an NHL hockey game Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ian Maule)

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Vegas Golden Knights center Jack Eichel (9) checks Colorado Avalanche right wing Mikko Rantanen (96) during the first period of an NHL hockey game Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ian Maule)

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Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Noah Hanifin (15) and Colorado Avalanche right wing Mikko Rantanen (96) chase down a loose puck during the first period of an NHL hockey game Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ian Maule)

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Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Zach Whitecloud (2) celebrates after scoring a goal during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Colorado Avalanche, Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ian Maule)

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Vegas Golden Knights left wing Pavel Dorofeyev (16) checks Colorado Avalanche defenseman Sam Malinski (70) during the second period of an NHL hockey game Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ian Maule)

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Colorado Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar (8) and right wing Mikko Rantanen (96) celebrate after Rantanen’s goal during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Vegas Golden Knights, Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ian Maule)

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Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Nicolas Hague (14) skates during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Colorado Avalanche, Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ian Maule)

By W.G. RAMIREZ

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Ivan Barbashev, Mark Stone and Victor Olofsson each scored two goals and the Vegas Golden Knights beat the Colorado Avalanche 8-4 on Wednesday night in the teams’ season opener.

Barbashev also had two assists, linemate Jack Eichel had four and defenseman Shea Theodore added three. Adin Hill finished with 28 saves.

Mikko Rantanen had three goals, while Casey Mittelstadt also scored for the Avalanche. Alexandar Georgiev made 11 saves. Justus Annunen came in for Georgiev and stopped two of the four shots he faced.

Takeaways

Avalanche: As their number one goaltender, Georgiev struggled terribly in allowing five or more goals in a regular-season game for the 34th time in his career. He came into the game with a 4-4-2 mark against Vegas, with a 2.59 goals-against average and .918 save percentage.

Golden Knights: Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy stressed the importance of chemistry with his forwards during training camp, starting with one center and one wing building chemistry before adding a third element once he was confident with the initial pairing. Cassidy seemingly got it right with his top line of Stone, Barbashev and Eichel, as the trio combined for 10 points.

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Key moment

After falling behind 1-0 midway through the first period, the Golden Knights wasted no time in tying the game when Olofsson sniped Georgiev from near the bottom of the right circle, firing it short side just over the goalie’s right shoulder.

Key stat

Rantanen’s hat trick was the eighth of his career, and second one of the calendar year. His last was last season in St. Louis on March 19. Five of Rantanen’s eight hat tricks have come on the road.

Up Next

The Avalanche host Columbus on Saturday, while the Golden Knights continue their season-opening three-game homestand by hosting St. Louis on Friday.

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl