- Mitch Marner scored his first goal of the season Sunday in Vancouver
- Marc Gatcomb added the winner late in the second as Vegas beat the Canucks 3-2
- Read below for the video of Marner’s goal and how the rest of the night played out
Mitch Marner is on the board.
The Golden Knights winger scored his first goal of the season Sunday night, tying the game in the second period of a 3-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena.
Vegas was down 1-0 when it happened at 9:01 of the middle frame. Brayden McNabb’s point shot hit the skate of Canucks defenseman Zeev Buium and kicked across the slot to Marner. Kevin Lankinen had already pushed hard to his left, so Marner pulled the puck back to the middle and slid it into an open net.
Watch the goal video and the rest of the highlights:
Jesse Granger of The Athletic liked the patience on the play:
It was Marner’s third game of the season. He had one power-play assist and five shots through Vegas’ first two games, then played 21:56 on Sunday and finished with three shots.
Victor Olofsson put the Golden Knights ahead 2-1 on the power play at 14:30. Mark Stone grabbed the rebound of a Jack Eichel one-timer and found Olofsson at the bottom of the right circle.
Jonathan Lekkerimaki tied it again at 17:54 with a far-side wrister off the rush. Vegas needed only 34 seconds to answer, as Marc Gatcomb tapped in the rebound of a Braeden Bowman wraparound for the winner. It was Gatcomb’s first goal since signing with Vegas on July 1.
Paul Cotter opened the scoring for Vancouver, tipping a Filip Hronek pass past Adin Hill on a first-period power play in his 300th NHL game. The newcomer now has four goals and six points in four games with the Canucks, a run that started with his overtime winner against the Oilers on opening night.
Lankinen made 25 saves for the Canucks, who drop to 2-2-0 on the second half of a back-to-back. Vegas moves to 2-1-0 after Friday’s 4-3 loss in Anaheim.
Marner put up 80 points (24 goals, 56 assists) in 81 games in his first season in Vegas, then added 29 more in 22 playoff games on the way to the Stanley Cup Final. Three games into year two, the first goal is out of the way.
