Then he walked the gauntlet as fans on both sides of the barricades chanted and shouted his name. He stopped to sign a few autographs, spotting people with new Marner No. 93 Golden Knights jerseys, but he had to hustle.
You could say Vegas is pinning its hopes on him. The Golden Knights gave each fan in the arena a limited-edition Marner pin, depicting him wearing his uniform with a red cape and tossing up a puck enveloped in flames, a magician with a hot hand.
After a drone light show, the Golden Knights announced the starting lineup. One by one, the players skated through the huge golden helmet and surrounded the circle at center ice. Marner came last and took his place, the final piece.
Marner started at right wing on the top line with Eichel in the middle and Ivan Barbashev on the left.
Vegas fell behind 2-0 in the first period.
“I think guys were pretty pumped up going out there, and it probably took us the first 20 minutes to get the nerves out, especially with the new faces too,” Barbashev said. “Maybe a little bit nervous and stuff, but we kind of got it going in the second and third.”
The Golden Knights tied the game 3-3 with two power-play goals late in the second — one at 5-on-4, one at 5-on-3. Marner didn’t get a point, but he played the point on a dynamic five-forward unit.
Marner’s two assists helped Vegas build a 5-3 lead in the third.
First, he took the puck from Barbashev on the rush and whipped a pass from the top of the right circle to the top of the left. Eichel blasted a one-timer into the back of the net at 5:06.
“Obviously, the pass was …” Eichel said, his voice trailing off. “It was a fantastic pass.”
