The Vegas Golden Knights opened up the preseason Sunday vs. the San Jose Sharks, and all it took was 24 seconds to fall behind in a game they ultimately lost 5-2. Henry Thrun opened the scoring for the Sharks, and nearly 9 minutes later the Sharks added a pair of goals in the span of 46 seconds to make it 3-0. Ivan Barbashev got the Golden Knights on the board with a goal of his own at 16:43 of the period.
San Jose responded just before the period ended when Thrun found the back of the net for the second time of the period to make it 4-1.
The 2nd period saw Kyle Burroughs tally a goal at 7:12, and Brett Howden added Vegas’ last goal of the game with just under 5 minutes left.
That was the extent of the scoring in the game, as the 3rd period came and went without another goal going up on the board. When all was said and done, the Sharks tallied 5 goals on 21 shots (12-6-3), and the Golden Knights had 34 (10-11-13).
The roster for Vegas included veterans such as Shea Theodore, Brayden McNabb, Barbashev, Howden, Paul Cotter, and Max Comtois. The remainder of the roster was a mix of prospects, AHL talent, and some journeyman that don’t stand out in a meaningful way.
Jiri Patera played the periods 1 and 2, and stopped 13 of the 18 shots he faced, allowing 1 goal on the power play. Jesper Vikman played the final frame, and stopped the 3 shots he faced. The Golden Knights went 0/3 on the power play, and 3 for 4 on the penalty kill, so it was a mixed bag in terms of special teams performance.
The Golden Knights will be back in action again on Monday vs. the Colorado Avalanche, and as the regular season gets closer the team will start to resemble the one that will take the ice on opening night.