Golden Knights get captain, offense back in win over Penguins

Danny Webster, Las Vegas Review-Journal on Mar 13, 2026

Published in Hockey

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Coach Bruce Cassidy thought the Vegas Golden Knights were due for a breakout. Part of that was finding a way to get a lead and extend it.

It had been awhile since they did that, but the Knights got the offensive outburst they needed in a 6-2 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday at T-Mobile Arena.

The Knights (30-22-14) put five goals on their first 15 shots to get a much-needed victory, just their third in nine games.

Pavel Dorofeyev scored twice, and linemate Mitch Marner had a goal and an assist to pace the offense.

Jack Eichel scored for the third straight game, and Colton Sissons scored his 100th career goal.

Adin Hill made 24 saves in his third consecutive start and has looked more comfortable with each outing.

The Knights got an unexpected boost earlier in the day. Captain Mark Stone made a surprise return to the lineup after missing the past five games with an upper-body injury.

It’s not just that Stone returned. General manager Kelly McCrimmon noted after the trade deadline that Stone’s injury wasn’t serious enough to keep him out long term.

The mild shock was Stone was a noncontact participant at the morning skate, but still took part in line rushes and power-play drills. He returned to his top-line post at right wing and played 17:52.

“(Stone’s) an emotional leader for us,” Cassidy said Thursday morning. “This is the time of year when you need that emotion because it hasn’t gone well for us.”

Stone’s return stabilized the forward group for the first time since the trade deadline. Having four full-time centers in the lineup gave the Knights a balance at the top of the lineup they haven’t had even when Stone was healthy.

Each line brought its own juice at 5-on-5, but the new-look third line reaped the rewards with Sissons opening the scoring at 8:41 of the first.

Dorofeyev extended the lead to 2-0 on a short-side snipe from just above the goal line at 5:02 of the second.

Fifty-four seconds after Penguins center Rickard Rakell scored on a backdoor, Marner’s highlight-reel goal at 9:20 restored the two-goal lead.

Marner intercepted a pass in the neutral zone, carried it into the slot and dropped the puck to Dorofeyev. Playing give-and-go, Marner cut from left to right, got tripped by Penguins goalie Arturs Silovs and — while in midair, fired the puck home for his 19th goal of the season.

While the Knights were getting healthy, the Penguins (32-18-15) were without their two superstars in captain Sidney Crosby (lower body) and center Evgeni Malkin (suspension).

That hasn’t stopped Pittsburgh from finding a way to earn points. They entered Thursday on a three-game point streak. The past two games required two-goal comebacks to force overtime.

There wasn’t going to be a comeback this time. Dorofeyev scored his second at 4:35 of the third, and Eichel made it 5-2 at 6:20.

The Knights continue their four-game homestand Saturday against the Chicago Blackhawks.