Coming into cloudless Las Vegas hot off a multi-goal comeback win of their own, the Leafs needed all of eight minutes and 37 seconds to pump three pucks past a seemingly shaken Adin Hill. A dream start… for the Golden Knights.

“You always want to get down as early as possible,” Vegas’s Ivan Barbashev said, without irony, after the home side had all the time in the world to rally for a 4-3 shootout victory.

Truth be told, the Maple Leafs should count themselves lucky to have escaped the Fortress with a point, after Vegas flipped the tables late in the first period and dominated the second frame like Daniel Negreanu with the big stack.

Leafs coach Jim Hiller pointed to Mark Stone’s full-blast slapshot goal late in the first as the turning point, and the Knights rode that spark into the second and third, outshooting their guests 21-8 and 11-4 in those periods, respectively.

“The second period, they came in waves at us. We didn’t do the best job of handling it,” veteran defenceman Chris Tanev said. “You can’t let teams like that start feeling it and get back into the game after we have a 3-0 lead.

“We got off to a great start, and then I think we just stopped playing direct, turned some pucks over coming out of our end and in the neutral, and sort of fed their transition game. They’re in Game (6) of the Cup Final last year for a reason. They’re very well structured. It’s amazing players. (Jack) Eichel can take over a game, and he had the puck a lot, especially in the second period.”

Eichel also drew a penalty shot — and converted — as part of a lopsided 5-1 tally in penalties drawn by the Knights. And while Bobrovsky led an overworked PK that held the fort, Vegas drew 5-on-5 momentum from its zippy power-play.

And while, yes, Toronto ran into a resilient and well-oiled opponent, the Leafs defencemen are spending too much time running around their own end, and the coach is getting desperate for consistency in his top nine mix of forwards.

Gavin McKenna was tried out on Nick Paul’s third line, and Hiller flipped William Nylander onto Auston Matthews’ top unit mid-game, dropping Kirill Marchenko to John Tavares’s second line as things unravelled. 

“Just try to change the vibe a little bit at different times,” Hiller explained of his latest top-six tweak. “Some players have been pretty consistent night after night. But as for three at the same time, we’re still looking for that.”

Such is the challenge of incorporating eight new forwards onto the roster over one crazy summer.

In all, Hiller used 10 different forward-line combinations at 5-on-5 Thursday. Only two of those combos won their minutes territorially. 

Tack on an unkind whistle, and the Leafs were on their heels, needing Bobrovsky to make 40 saves to salvage their shootout point.

An egregious non-call late — Jeremy Lauzon’s aggressive interference on Oliver Ekman-Larsson — coincided with the Leafs defenceman leaving the game hurt. (No update on Ekman-Larsson’s health yet.)

“Oh, I think there could’ve been a call,” Hiller said.

In truth, this game was both won by Vegas — and saved, by a leather-flashing Bobrovsky — in a wild Period 2.

“He got us a point. That’s what great goalies do,” Hiller said. “Listen, they could have got three or four, and the game’s over.”

“We want to get a win for him badly,” Tanev said. “But we got to learn from what we did today and then get better.”

Bobrovksy (0-2-1) is still searching his first win as a Maple Leaf. But he now has his first standout performance.

“They’re a really good team, so it’s a big point for us, and we just move on,” Bobrovsky said. “We’re gonna work on our game and keep building.”

The Maple Leafs practice Friday in Vegas before flying to Denver to face the Avalanche Saturday night.

• You could get into T-Mobile Arena Thursday for as little as $18.82. Sign of the times.

This was the first non-sellout home game in Golden Knights history (pandemic excluded).

Announced attendance was 15,977, which sounds generous. The rink’s capacity is 17,367.

• File under: “Hey, I ran into your ex…”

Former Leafs goalie Dennis Hildeby was stellar in Thursday’s Lightning debut, posting 34 saves and a .944 save percentage in a 3-2 win over the Wild. He was awarded Second Star.

• When Colton Sissons was honoured on the Jumbotron, the returning Knight alumnus didn’t wave to the applauding crowd. He just winked. 

• Victor Olofsson was essentially the Knights quick-fix replacement for the departing Pavel Dorofeyev — and at a cap hit $9,361,670 cheaper.

The goal-a-game winger had posted at least a point in each of his first four outings for Vegas (4-1–5) before leaving Tuesday’s win in Seattle with an undisclosed injury. He’s out week-to-week.

“Definitely sucks,” Mitch Marner said.

• One imagines the speedy, creative McKenna thriving in 3-on-3 action, with its abundance of space and lack of contact. He hasn’t had a shift in either of Toronto’s overtime periods.

“He’ll get out there sooner or later. Trust me,” Hiller said. “He’s been called. If you ask him, I’ve probably called him three different times. But for whatever reasons, he hasn’t been able to get out there yet.”