The Vegas Golden Knights  began their 2026-27 season on a winning note last night, defeating the Chicago Blackhawks 5-2 at T-Mobile Arena and giving Ryan Craig a win in his first regular-season game as Vegas head coach.

Going into the season, one question for the Golden Knights was how they would make up for the loss of Pavel Dorofeyev, Vegas’ leading goal scorer last season, whom they traded to the New York Rangers for draft picks.

The organization signed free agent Victor Olofsson to help compensate for the loss in offense, but it also wanted more from internal resources, led by Jack Eichel, to help fill the void.

That was the storyline last night. Five different players scored for Vegas. Shea Theodore, Brayden McNabb, and Ivan Barbashev each had two assists.

Olofsson scored Vegas’ first goal of the season, and Eichel finished with one goal and two assists.

Another big storyline last night was 20-year-old Trevor Connelly, Vegas’ top prospect, who made his debut at left wing and notched his first NHL goal at 15:22 of the first period.

Carter Hart stopped 24 of 26 shots in goal for Vegas. 

The Golden Knights play their next game Friday (Oct. 2) at home against the Anaheim Ducks.