Golden Knights defeated the St. Louis Blues behind Jack Eichel and Ivan Barbashev | Golden Knights

Not every player will be fit again at the start of the season.

Don't tell that to the senior members of the Golden Knights. They continue to be a force.

Jack Eichel, Ivan Barbashev and Mark Stone each had two points and the Knights cruised to a 4-3 win over the St. Louis Blues at T-Mobile Arena on Friday.

Eichel and Barbashev each had a goal and an assist, and Stone had two assists, giving the three a total of 17 points in six periods.

The Knights have scored 12 goals to start the season, one of which was a clean sheet. Six of them came from the top group.

“It was good. “We want to continue to improve,” said Eichel. “I think there were a few other chances that we would have liked to finish, but overall it was a good performance from our team.”

Defenseman Shea Theodore had a goal and an assist, and goalie Adin Hill made 19 saves, giving the Knights back-to-back home wins (2-0-0). On Wednesday, they earned an 8-4 season-opening win over the Colorado Avalanche.

A key factor in this high-scoring affair against Colorado was the Knights' response after each goal they conceded.

The first hour on Friday was no different.

After Blues center Pavel Buchnevich opened the scoring with the first of his two goals at 6:47, Eichel responded by sliding through the middle after a pass from Barbashev and switching forehand to backhand 1:15 later to make it To equalize to 1:1.

Barbashev scored his third goal in two nights at 18:13 of the first on another transition play. Eichel found Stone, who passed the puck behind his back to a cutting Barbashev and flicked it over Binnington's right shoulder to make it 2-1.

“It's easy to read him, isn't it?” Eichel said of Barbashev. “He wins a lot of battles, he's good on the walls. He has some underrated hands and scores in tight situations. He does all the little things that make my job as a centerman a lot easier.”

The Blues (2-1-0) played for the second straight night following a 5-4 overtime win against the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center on Thursday. It was St. Louis' third road game of the start of the season. Both wins over Seattle and San Jose required deficits.

On Friday it seemed to be going in that direction again.

The Knights took a two-goal lead twice – once in the second period on Theodore's goal at 2:55 and in the third after center Nicolas Roy's goal at 12:53 of the third period. St. Louis responded each time with goals from Buchnevich and center Robert Thomas.

But the Knights converted a delaying penalty by Noah Hanifin at 15:48 of the third period when the Blues had a chance to tie the game. They also applied pressure in the neutral zone in the final minute to prevent Binnington from leaving the ice so the Blues could get an additional attacker.

The Knights took their foot off the gas after Thomas' breakaway goal with 4:56 left, but were able to equalize.

“At the end we were really prepared to play winning hockey,” coach Bruce Cassidy said. “It’s really positive at this time of year. In the end, I was really proud of the guys who pulled it off and gave full throttle in those crucial moments.”

It's not sustainable for one line to carry a team, but the Knights needed every ounce of production.

The line of center Tomas Hertl with left wing Pavel Dorofeyev and right wing Alexander Holtz has not yet recorded a point. While Roy scored, his third line of left wing Brett Howden and right wing Victor Olofsson was a minus-1.

The dynamic play of the top line gives the Knights a good feeling. They'll take what they can and figure everything else out later.

“Those are the guys you look for and that’s why we put them together right at the start,” Cassidy said. “Let’s lean on them early and know they’re going to generate something and then go from there.”

Here are three takeaways from the win:

1. Schwindt debut

Center Cole Schwindt's mother and uncle packed up his apartment in Calgary, Alberta, and headed out to watch his Knights debut.

They weren't disappointed.

Schwindt earned his first NHL point in his eighth career game with an assist on Theodore's goal.

The Knights claimed a waiver from the Calgary Flames for the Kitchener, Ontario native on Monday. The former 2019 third-round pick skated on the fourth line with left wing Tanner Pearson and right wing Keegan Kolesar.

“I've dreamed of playing in the NHL my whole life,” said Schwindt, who was allowed to keep the puck.

Schwindt said he owed his mother and uncle a nice dinner after everything he had done. They're not the only ones.

“I think I owe Theo a nice dinner after this,” he said.

2. Roy reaches 300

Roy's first goal of the season came in his 300th NHL game.

The 27-year-old center has played 293 of them with the Knights as he enters his sixth season with the team. The Knights acquired him in June 2019 as part of a deal with the Carolina Hurricanes that included center Erik Haula.

Roy has developed into a reliable center during his time in Las Vegas. While he did most of his work on the fourth line, he proved his worth every time he moved up the lineup.

3. Theodore's hot start

Despite the Knights' great offensive start, their star defender was solid.

Theodore recorded another multi-point game following a three-assist game on Wednesday.

“It felt good. I think our group was very opportunistic,” Theodore said. “There’s definitely some things to clean up, but overall I think it’s a great effort by all.”

Theodore suffered the most damage while playing five-on-five with his defensive partner Alex Pietrangelo, who also picked up an assist for the second game in a row.

The Knights outscored the Blues 9-6 and outscored them 2-1 with Theodore and Pietrangelo on the ice.

It's an important year for Theodore in terms of staying healthy after missing three months last season with an upper-body injury, and it's also a contract year. So far, he's getting along well with the Knights' talented blue line.

“We've been opportunistic, but defensively we've shut down some quality players so far,” Theodore said. “Good test for our group.”

Contact Danny Webster at [email protected]. Follow @DannyWebster21 on X.