Jack Eichel nets a pair as Golden Knights sink Seattle Kraken 5-2

SEATTLE (AP) — Jack Eichel scored twice in his first multigoal game since being traded to Vegas, Logan Thompson made 26 saves and the Golden Knights beat the Seattle Kraken 5-2 on Friday night.

Vegas Golden Knights 5, Seattle Kraken 2: Box score

The Golden Knights, the previous NHL expansion team, swept the season series against the newest expansion team. Vegas beat Seattle in the season opener in October and shut out the Kraken 3-0 on Wednesday night.

Eichel scored his eighth and ninth goals of the season in his 22nd game for the Golden Knights. Shea Theodore scored his 10th of the season midway through the second period.

The "S" in their logo must stand for Shea Theodore pic.twitter.com/geEEfdz6Gx

— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) April 2, 2022

Jonathan Marchessault and William Karlsson added empty-net goals in the final 2 1/2 minutes for Vegas. Marchessault’s was his 27th of the season and Karlsson’s his 10th.

The victory pushed Vegas back into a playoff spot in the Western Conference, one point ahead of Dallas for the second wild-card spot.

Evgenii Dadonov added two assists and has seven points for Vegas since the NHL voided the attempted trade by the Golden Knights that would have sent Dadonov to Anaheim at the trade deadline last month.

Alex Wennberg pulled Seattle within 3-1 at 10:44 of the third period with his ninth goal of the season off a great pass from Jared McCann. Kole Lind scored his first career NHL goal with 1:38 left following Marchessault’s empty-net goal.

A puck that @klind13 will keep forever.

Let's show him some #SeattleLove after scoring his first @NHL goal! 💙 pic.twitter.com/KlmHQXmeEm

— Seattle Kraken (@SeattleKraken) April 2, 2022

Making his eighth straight start, Thompson was terrific when called upon, but great scoring chances were rare for the Kraken. Karson Kuhlman had two excellent chances for Seattle, missing the net open in front of the net in the first period and hitting the crossbar in the second period.

Eichel’s first came at 10:28 of the first after a bad defensive rotation allowed Alec Martinez to skate in and feed Eichel in front of net.

Just seconds after Kuhlman hit the crossbar in the second, Eichel scored his second of the game, finding himself alone in front of the net off a pass from Dadonov.

What do the scoresheet and the kid from The Incredibles have in common?

Jack-Jack pic.twitter.com/1Ez7YWcZ81

— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) April 2, 2022

Later in the second, Theodore was left unmarked racing down the center of the ice and beat Grubauer on the blocker side.

Eichel’s last multigoal game came more than two years ago while still with Buffalo in February 2020 against Pittsburgh. Eichel has four goals in his past four.

NOTES: McCann was an unexpected participant in a second-period fight, getting the better of Vegas’ Michael Amadio. It was just the sixth fight of McCann’s career. Seattle’s Yanni Gourde and Vegas’ Ben Hutton also had fighting majors. … Vegas F Keegan Kolesar was scratched. Kolesar was in a fight with Seattle D Jamie Oleksiak in Wednesday’s game. … Seattle scratched D Haydn Fleury (upper body) and F Jaden Schwartz (upper body). Both missed their fourth straight game.

UP NEXT

Vegas Golden Knights: at Vancouver on Sunday.

Seattle Kraken: Host Dallas on Sunday.

It’s possible Seattle Kraken can contend next season – here’s how