The Vegas Golden Knights scored two bizarre goals – one near the end of regulation time and one in overtime – to beat the San Jose Sharks 4-3 in their first road game of the season, which was also the Sharks’ season opener.
Reilly Smith scored the winner in extra time for his 36th career winning goal. Oddly enough, this is the third year in a row that the Sharks have allowed a game-tying goal with less than two minutes left and then lost in overtime or a shootout in their first or second game of the season.
Game To summarize
The Sharks had their best scoring opportunities in the opening minutes of the first period, with the Golden Knights also mixing in a couple. San Jose broke through first after Ty Dellandrea’s pass toward the crease turned into a scramble play on net. After a few deflections, Jeff Skinner tapped the puck in for his first Sharks goal and 700th career point.
Vegas responded a few minutes later when Brett Howden grabbed a loose puck at the top of the Golden Knights’ offensive zone and drove to the net, splitting the defenders before maneuvering around Alex Nedeljkovic to tie the game. Although Keegan Kolesar and Ben Hutton got assists, the play was almost entirely Howden’s and effectively an unassisted goal.
Although the Golden Knights got a power play and both teams – especially Vegas – had a few good chances, the game remained tied at 1-1 at the end of the period.
In the second period, the Sharks dominated the first half thanks to two quick Vegas penalties that gave them a five-on-three power play. They took advantage of the two-man advantage by controlling possession and getting the puck to the front of the net, where a shot attempt from William Eklund deflected off Brayden McNabb and bounced to Alexander Wennberg, who scored from just outside the crease to give the Sharks the lead.
Possibly motivated by their early period struggles, Vegas began to pressure the Sharks shortly after the goal, leading to a hook penalty at the net for Shakir Mukhamadullin. On the ensuing power play, the Golden Knights used great puck movement to set up Pavel Dorofeyev, who scored his fourth goal of the season in less than two full games.
After a back-and-forth first few minutes into the third period, the Sharks threw a barrage of pucks at the net, eventually putting one home when Philipp Kurashev tapped in a Dmitry Orlov shot. Then both teams looked good, especially a great save from Akira Schmid on Kurashev to keep Vegas within one. At the San Jose end, the Sharks killed a crucial penalty with less than five minutes left to hold the lead.
But nothing could have prepared anyone for the final few minutes of this match. Once Vegas signed Schmid for an extra skater, Eklund narrowly missed an empty net twice. After the second attempt, Jack Eichel skated up the puck and tossed it in from center ice, then took an absurd bounce and slid through Nedeljkovic to tie the game. The Sharks almost did the same thing twice, but the game went to overtime, where the antics continued.
About 80 seconds into overtime, the Golden Knights poked the puck away from Macklin Celebrini and slid it toward Vegas’ offensive zone. Nedeljkovic rushed out to clear the ball, but his attempt went off Smith and straight to Shea Theodore, who set up Smith for what was essentially an empty-net game winner.
The Golden Knights are now 1-0-1, while the Sharks are 0-0-1. Both teams will play again on Saturday (October 11): Vegas on the road against the Seattle Kraken, San Jose at home against the Anaheim Ducks.
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