Jack Eichel makes debut for Vegas Golden Knights, appears in his 1st game since March 2021

Jack Eichel is back in action.

The center made his Vegas debut on Wednesday night, in a 2-0 Golden Knights' loss to the Colorado Avalanche. It was Eichel's first NHL game in nearly a year, following surgery on a herniated disk in his neck last November.

He finished minus-one with one shot on goal and 8-for-11 in the face-off dot through 17:32 ice time, while also taking two minor penalties.

There was plenty of pageantry for Eichel's first effort though. The atmosphere around the home team's newest star was palpable, and Eichel was tapped to take the game's opening face-off as the Golden Knights' top-line center, against the NHL's top team in Colorado no less.

The defeat marked Vegas' second consecutive shutout loss, as Avalanche netminder Darcy Kuemper stole the show with a 29-save performance.

Despite the result, Eichel still felt the love in his all-important first outing.

«There was a lot of energy in the building, and I thought I fed off that and played pretty well in the first period,» he said. «You don't want to take two penalties and be on the ice for [a goal], but there's some things to build on. They're a really good team, and you get matched up against a pretty good line for part of the game. First game in 11 months, good to get back doing what [you're doing].»

The 25-year-old hadn't been available to play since March 7, 2021, when he was still with the Buffalo Sabres and injured his neck during an on-ice collision.

Given the long layoff, Eichel wasn't surprised by a little rust showing up in his game. It just didn't lessen the enjoyment of being out there.

«Honestly, I was having a pretty fun time out there,» he said. «I think there's some stuff to build on, but it's a process. I know it's going to get better.