Mitch Marner notches assist in pre-season debut for Golden Knights

Mitch Marner didn’t take long to make an impact for his new team — albeit in a low-stakes situation.

Making his pre-season debut for the Vegas Golden Knights, Marner set up Jack Eichel for the club’s first goal midway through the third period against the visiting Utah Mammoth on Thursday night.

Marner made a nice backhand pass from behind the goal line to the slot for Eichel, who beat Mammoth goalie Vitek Vanecek to cut Utah’s lead to 2-1. Vegas went on to win 3-2.

“There’s not a lot of people in the world who can make that pass,” Eichel said in a post-game interview.

Golden Knights fans will be quite happy if they see similar scenes many times this season. The team hopes to establish strong chemistry between two former rivals from the Atlantic Division.

Head coach Bruce Cassidy liked what he saw from the Eichel, Marner and Shea Theodore trio and said he’s sure “those three guys will play together in overtime quite a bit.â€

Marner, of course, was sent to the Golden Knights by the Toronto Maple Leafs in a sign-and-trade this past summer. He reached an eight-year, $96-million deal with the Golden Knights.

The Thornhill, Ont. native had 741 points in 657 career games with his hometown team, but the Leafs failed to get past the second round during Marner’s time in Toronto.

Eichel also scored the tying goal Thursday late in the third period and then assisted on Theodore’s overtime winner.

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