The Avalanche (35-9-4) lead the NHL standings. The Golden Knights (28-18-3) have been shut out in each of their past two games -- they lost 6-0 at the Calgary Flames on Feb. 9 -- but are hoping Eichel will be able to spark their offense after he shakes off the rust.
Eichel scored 355 points (139 goals, 216 assists) in 375 games in six seasons with Buffalo and scored at least 24 goals in each of his first five seasons, including an NHL career-high 36 in 2019-20.
"He's a confident guy," DeBoer said. "He knows where he stands and where he belongs with the elite players in the league. I also think he's smart enough to know that he's not going to be at the top of his game after not playing in 11 months. So we'll work through all those things."
There was a pregame buzz and anticipation inside T-Mobile Arena reminiscent of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. A noticeable number of fans were wearing Eichel's No. 9 jersey down by the glass to get a closer look at him during warmups. The crowd greeted him with loud cheers when he was the first player announced in the Golden Knights starting lineup.
Eichel had a brief welcome-back conversation with Nathan MacKinnon when he lined up opposite the Avalanche center for the opening face-off, which he won to begin his Vegas career.
"I know Nate a little bit," Eichel said. "So he was saying it was good to see me back out here."
Eichel wasted no time getting involved, delivering a hit on forward Mikko Rantanen in the left corner of the Avalanche zone 27 seconds into the game. DeBoer didn't shy away from playing Eichel's line head-to-head against Colorado's top line of Gabriel Landeskog, MacKinnon and Rantanen.
"That's what he's here for," DeBoer said. "There's no sense easing him in, and I don't think he's a guy who wants to be eased in. I think he wants to get out there and play."
Eichel showed some flashes of his world-class playmaking skill, including a pass on the rush to Dadonov for a scoring chance from the left side with 3:42 remaining in the second period, but Dadonov's shot went high over the net. MacKinnon's line ended up producing the game's first goal with Landeskog scoring on a one-timer from the right circle 41 seconds into third period.
Eichel, Pacioretty and Dadonov nearly combined to tie it at 4:18 when Eichel chipped the puck ahead to Pacioretty on the left wing and Pacioretty sprung Dadonov on a breakaway, but Colorado goalie Darcy Kuemper made a right-pad save.
After MacKinnon set up Rantanen for a power-play goal from the right circle to make it 2-0 with 4:15 remaining, the Golden Knights pulled goalie Laurent Brossoit for the final 2:28 but could not score with an extra attacker against Kuemper, who made 29 saves for his second straight shutout.
"It's a tough matchup," Eichel said. "They're one of the best lines in the league, but we had a couple chances, and they had their chances. It was a tight game for most of it. Obviously, they get the power-play goal at the end there. That was sort of the difference, and we weren't able to cash in on any. But I think there was a lot of good to build on for our group."
