Golden Knights' 7-game win streak reminiscent of '23 Cup run, Eichel says

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Imagine winning seven consecutive Stanley Cup Playoff games, including four on the road, and feeling like there’s still plenty of improvement to be made.

That’s the vibe right now inside the Vegas Golden Knights dressing room heading into Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Carolina Hurricanes at Lenovo Center on Thursday (8 p.m. ET; ABC, SN, TVAS, CBC). Vegas leads the best-of-7 series 1-0 after a 5-4 victory in the opener on Tuesday.

For players like center Jack Eichel, there are parallels to the team’s 2023 Stanley Cup run, when the play of the Golden Knights continued to ascend as the postseason went on, culminating with a dominant 9-3 victory against the Florida Panthers in the  title-clinching Game 5 of the Final.

“I’d be lying if I said no,” Eichel replied when asked if he felt Vegas were peaking at the right time. “Obviously, if you look at our season, this is the best hockey we’ve played.

“It was a bit tumultuous there for a lot of the regular season. It seemed like we were either on a four- or five-game winning streak or a four- or five-game losing streak. So I think anyone would tell you this is the time where you need to be playing your best.”

Which wasn’t the case for chunks of the regular season.

The Golden Knights finished first in the Pacific Division with 95 points but not without their share of warts, as symbolized by their 17 overtime losses, second most in the NHL. They changed coaches on March 29 with John Tortorella replacing the fired Bruce Cassidy.

The postseason has been a different story; Vegas has not lost since Game 4 of the Western Conference Second Round against the Anaheim Ducks, a span of 25 days and counting.

Shea Theodore, like Eichel, was a member of that 2023 Cup-winning team. As such, the defenseman sees this edition improving as the playoffs go on, much like the team three years ago did.

“I think we’re on a roll,” Theodore said. “After looking at the video, there’s a lot we still can do better too. I mean, it’s good to get the win in Game 1, but I know if we continue to play like this, we’re going to be better. 

“I think taking a look at our mistakes that ended up in our net, if we overall fix those, then we should be much cleaner moving forward.”

Defenseman Noah Hanifin said the team’s buy-in on being confident no matter the opponent has been the key. 

“I think guys know what it takes, know their roles, and really digging in,” he said. “That’s what you need and that’s what we’re getting.”