Knights forward shows off impressive shot and more in 2-goal debut

His shot is one of the reasons why the Knights signed him to a one-year, $1.075 million contract in the first place. The quickness with which the puck flies off his stick is uncanny.

The Knights saw that firsthand with Olofsson scoring twice in his debut in an 8-4 win over the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday to open the regular season.

Olofsson and the Knights will try to keep the scoring output going against the St. Louis Blues at 7 p.m. Friday at T-Mobile Arena.

“It was a tough game,” Olofsson said. “We had to dig deep. We did let up too many goals and (didn’t score on) chances that we would’ve liked, but we also scored eight. So, it was good.”

While his shot is the star of the show, it was his first time finding the back of the net that was more impressive.

Olofsson scored the Knights’ first goal of the season on a great individual play.

Defenseman Alex Pietrangelo’s shot was blocked, and the puck rolled toward the wall. Olofsson gathered the puck and skated toward the left circle.

With Colorado defenseman Calvin de Haan draped over him, Olofsson kept possession near the wall and circled back to the top of the circle.

Olofsson fired a laser from the circle with center Nicolas Roy screening goaltender Alexandar Georgiev. The only spot Olofsson could put it was over Georgiev’s shoulder.

He picked the corner to tie it 1-1 at 11:15 of the first period, 27 seconds after Colorado right wing Mikko Rantanen opened the scoring with his first of three goals.

“I saw (de Haan) cheating a little bit,” Olofsson said. “I saw Nic in front of the net battling. I think the goalie was expecting a pass. I just tried to hit the net, and it went in.”

It wasn’t just the precision of the shot with so little room that stood out.

Coach Bruce Cassidy said it was impressive for Olofsson to find space while skating against Colorado’s strong defensive structure.

“We know he has the shot. He’s scored like that in practice on our guys with that release,” Cassidy said. “The fact that he separates against a team that plays man-to-man in their own end, you’re going to have a little time if you’re able to hold onto the puck and do that. Good on him for doing that.”

Perhaps that side to his game doesn’t show if Olofsson started on the top line.

Olofsson began training camp with center Jack Eichel and left wing Ivan Barbashev because of Olofsson’s familiarity with Eichel. The two played parts of three seasons together in Buffalo.

With center William Karlsson on injured reserve with an undisclosed injury, Cassidy moved captain Mark Stone up with Eichel and Barbashev. That trio did well in its season debut with Barbashev and Stone each scoring twice, and Eichel collecting four assists.

Olofsson moved to the third line with Roy and right wing Brendan Brisson.

After so many questions about who would fill the scoring void after six free agents left in the offseason, Olofsson has fit the bill so far, including a power-play goal in the second period.

There’s 81 more games to go to figure out if it’s a perfect match.

“I see myself as an offensive player,” Olofsson said. “It’s always nice to score a goal early in the season to get you going a little bit and feel more comfortable out there.”

Contact Danny Webster at dwebster@reviewjournal.com. Follow @DannyWebster21 on X.