Stone has 4-point night and Hill gets shutout in Golden Knights’ 7-0 romp over Avalanche

Mark Stone, as part of a four-point effort, became the first Golden Knights player to score two short-handed goals in a game and goalie Adin Hill had 41 saves to help keep red hot Vegas rolling with a 7-0 victory over the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday night.

William Karlsson and Jack Eichel also scored two goals, William Carrier had a goal and Chandler Stephenson and Pavel Dorofeyev each finished with two assists in the meeting between the NHL’s two most recent champions.

Karlsson extended his point streak to nine games to tie four other players for the longest streak in team history.

Stone’s two goals gave him 200 for his career. It is the third time in Knights history they have scored two short-handed goals in a game.

“It’s different guys every night,” Stone said. “The Karlsson line’s kind of carried us along. We’ve had some tight games the last couple of weeks, so it’s nice for (Eichel’s) and my line to kind of get going.”

Hill’s sixth career shutout is his first since March 12, 2022 against the Los Angeles Kings.

“I felt like I was seeing the puck well and just patient on my feet,” Hill said. “Just felt good tonight.”

Vegas (11-0-1) is the only team that has not lost in regulation. The Knights are tied with three other teams for the seventh-longest point streak to open a season.

“I think we were the better team, but I don’t think it was a 7-0 game,” Knights coach Bruce Cassidy said. “We’re going to take the win and enjoy it.”

The Avalanche have been shut out in three consecutive road games and outscored by a combined 15-0.

“There wasn’t a lot to like,” Colorado coach Jared Bednar said. “The difference in the two hockey teams right now for me is Vegas is going to force you to beat them. They’re not going to hand you easy goals. They’re not going to make a ton of mistakes. You have to earn everything you get against them, and we’re the opposite right now.”

The Knights’ special teams were dominant in the first period, but Vegas couldn’t quite take advantage of eight shots on goal on two power plays. Instead, the Knights made the score 1-0 with 3:10 left in the period while short-handed. Brayden McNabb’s pass from the left point found Stone on the right side of the net for a tap-in goal.

The Knights broke open the game in the second period, scoring three goals within 3:14 of each other. Eichel scored twice, including on a power play against the NHL’s second-best penalty kill. Carrier had the other goal.

Stone’s short-handed goal early in the third period gave the Knights a 5-0 lead, and Karlsson made it 6-0 near the midway point.

Three Colorado players reached career milestones — forward Mikko Rantanen appeared in his 500th game and goalie Alexandar Georgiev and forward Ross Colton in their 200th.