Golden Knights 3, Canucks 2: Marner's First as a Knight, Hill's 17 Saves Extend Vancouver Dominance

VANCOUVER — The Vegas Golden Knights own the Vancouver Canucks, and Sunday night at Rogers Arena was more of the same. Three goals in the second period — from Mitch Marner, Victor Olofsson and Marc Gatcomb — and 17 saves from Adin Hill in his first start since April carried Vegas to a 3-2 win, its eighth straight over Vancouver.

The game-winner came in a blink. Jonathan Lekkerimaki tied it 2-2 at the 17:54 mark of the second on a sharp-angle shot from the bottom of the right circle past Hill's blocker side — and just 34 seconds later, Gatcomb was jamming home a cross-crease pass from Braeden Bowman inside the right post. First goal in a Golden Knights jersey for Gatcomb, and it stood up as the winner.

It took Vancouver most of the night to look like the team that put up 17 goals over its first three games. The Canucks opened the scoring at 18:52 of the first period on the power play, Paul Cotter redirecting a seam pass from Filip Hronek inside the right post — Cotter's team-leading fourth goal, extending his season-opening point streak to four games. Vegas answered in the middle frame with a rush: Marner's wrist shot from the slot beat Kevin Lankinen into the top left corner midway through the second, his first goal of the season.

Marner's goal matters beyond the scoresheet. He was the top scorer in last spring's Stanley Cup playoffs with 29 points, and the Golden Knights brought him in to be a difference-maker in exactly these moments — the kind of cold-blooded finish from the slot that turns a road game. One goal doesn't end a conversation, but it's a start, and the timing couldn't have been better for a team that needed its stars to show up in a building where nothing comes easy.

The power play did the rest. With Vegas on the man advantage at 14:30 of the second, Lankinen stopped a Jack Eichel shot, the rebound popped out to Mark Stone at the goal line, and Stone sliced a pass across to Olofsson, who blasted it into the top of the net for a 2-1 lead. The Golden Knights had five power plays on the night and found success with the extra man while running a five-forward unit — the kind of detail that wins games in October and pays off in April.

Then came the third period, and it belonged to Hill. His best moment: sliding well out of his crease midway through the frame to deny Liam Ohgren on a shorthanded breakaway — the kind of save that keeps a lead instead of chasing one. Vancouver pulled Lankinen for the extra attacker with 2:15 left, and the finish was chaos: Hronek blocked Eichel's shot at the empty net, and with two seconds left Elias Pettersson rang one off the left post from the bottom of the left circle. The horn sounded with the puck still in play, and the Canucks' bench knew how close they'd come.

For Hill, this was personal. His first start since April 9 of last season, 17 saves on 19 shots, and his fifth straight win against Vancouver. The 2023 Cup run is three springs in the rearview, and the crease conversation in Vegas has been loud ever since — but nights like this are why the organization keeps betting on him. He was calm when the game got frantic, and that was the difference between a win and a blown lead on the road.

Context matters for the Canucks, too. This was the second night of a back-to-back after Saturday's 4-1 win over Calgary, and the legs showed it — Vancouver managed just 19 shots on the night, 11 through two periods. For Lankinen, it was a bounce-back: 25 saves after giving up eight goals on 20 shots in Thursday's wild 9-7 loss to Edmonton. The Canucks fall to 2-2-0 and head out on a six-game road trip starting Thursday in Carolina. The effort was there. The gas tank wasn't.

The dominance numbers are getting absurd. Vegas is 22-4-3 all-time against Vancouver, and the eight straight wins date back to a 4-3 loss on April 8, 2024. Whatever the Canucks try against this team — new coach, new system, home ice, back-to-back legs — the answer is the same. Some matchups are just matchups, and this one belongs to the Knights.

Next up is a Pacific Division week that could set the early tone: Vegas visits the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday night at Climate Pledge Arena, then returns home for the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday and the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday. Three games, three statements to make. For more on the opening weekend around the league, see our NHL opening-weekend roundup — and for the other half of Vegas' wild sports Sunday, the Chiefs' 30-27 win over the Raiders at Allegiant Stadium.