For the third time this year, the Vegas Golden Knights (21-11-12) have won four games in a row, with the latest victory coming in the form of a 7-2 win over the San Jose Sharks (23-19-3) Sunday night at SAP Center.
The Golden Knights completed the season sweep of the Sharks with their second 7-2 rout and fourth win in four games against San Jose this season, including a 4-3 overtime win on Oct. 9, a 4-3 regulation win on Nov. 29 and 7-2 wins on Dec. 23 and Jan. 11.
Former Sharks forward Tomas Hertl recorded a career-high five points in the win, including two goals and three assists. He was one of five Golden Knights with multi-point efforts, joining Jack Eichel (two goals), Pavel Dorofeyev (one goal, two assists), Noah Hanifin (two assists) and Mark Stone (three assists).
Though Stone’s goal streak ended at seven games, the captain has now recorded a point in 25 of 28 games this season. This was his 11th multi-point effort of the year.
Carl Lindbom, who was recalled due to the injury to Carter Hart, made his first start since Nov. 29 against the Sharks and earned his second win of the season with an 18-save effort and a .900 save percentage.
After a successful early penalty kill, the Golden Knights opened the scoring 7:19 into the contest. Eichel’s first of the night came on the doorstep, and it was his 300th point as a member of the Golden Knights since coming over in a trade from Buffalo on Nov. 4, 2021.
The early lead only lasted for 2:14, though, as a blocked shot by a Vegas defenseman (Zach Whitecloud) went right to Collin Graf, who shot the puck off another Vegas defenseman (Hanifin) and into the net.
However, Vegas was back in the lead 84 seconds later with Dorofeyev’s team-leading 11th power-play goal of the season.
The Golden Knights had a series of chances to extend the lead on an odd-man rush, but Sharks netminder Yaroslav Askarov made some key stops to keep it a one-goal game.
However, the Golden Knights scored the first three goals of the middle frame.. The period began much like the first, with Eichel opening the scoring. His 16th of the year came on quite a blast off a cross-seam feed from Stone, who stole the puck to set up the play.
Jeremy Lauzon took his customary minor penalty of the game, but the Vegas penalty kill came through with another solid kill. Lauzon drew a penalty 22 seconds after exiting the box to set up Vegas’ second man-advantage of the game.
Once again, the Golden Knights’ power play looked dangerous and eventually converted, as Hertl scored on the rebound to make it a 4-1 game 11 minutes into the period.
The Golden Knights extended their lead to four goals just 1:25 later when Whitecloud potted his second of the year on a point shot that beat a screened Askarov.
The Sharks slowed the bleeding with their second of the night with 3:31 remaining in the period. Vegas struggled to get the puck out of the zone, and the Sharks capitalized, with Timothy Liljegren finding Alexander Wennberg for the one-timer.
The Golden Knights led 5-2 after two periods with a 23-14 edge in shots, and Vegas prevented the Sharks from challenging in the third.
For the second game in a row, the Golden Knights hit the empty net from almost 200 feet away, with Shea Theodore finding twine for the second game in a row since returning from injury.
Even at 6-2, the Golden Knights continued to press. An extended shift in the offensive zone resulted in Hertl’s second goal and fifth point of the evening with 1:01 remaining, putting the final stamp on a career night.
Vegas never trailed in another exemplary effort against the Sharks, against whom Vegas is 31-2-5 all-time. This was the Golden Knights’ 11th straight win against San Jose, and they have yet to lose a regular-season game in regulation at SAP Center (16-0-3).
Vegas’ continued dominance over the Sharks is impressive, but this was another step in the right direction for a Golden Knights team that went through an ugly stretch in an up-and-down (mostly down) December.
With several players back in the lineup and multiple players heating up, this team is starting to look like the Golden Knights for the first time in a while.
Several of Vegas’ recent wins have come against inferior (or at least lower-seeded) teams, but the Golden Knights are taking care of the details, and they have cleaned up the mistakes that previously plagued them regardless of the quality of their opponent.
The Golden Knights seem to be at their best when Hertl and Dorofeyev are going back and forth for the team lead in goals. Hertl has the slight edge with 18 compared to Dorofeyev’s 17, but their back-and-forth race last season played a key role in keeping Vegas’ offense clicking, and it makes the Golden Knights a much more dynamic threat.
With Stone in the midst of a remarkable campaign, Eichel heating up with goals in three straight, Theodore healthy and producing and the depth scoring waking up and chipping in more reliably, the Golden Knights are starting to take shape.
Special teams played a key role in the win, with the power play striking twice on four chances and the penalty kill going a perfect 5-for-5.
The goaltending is still a question mark, but Akira Schmid has been in net for 13 of the club’s 21 wins, and Lindbom has played well in most of his starts despite not getting the same results.
This year’s iteration of the Sharks is much better than previous seasons, but the Golden Knights have had their way with San Jose, outscoring the Sharks 14-4 in the last two outings.
The last time Vegas scored a touchdown against San Jose, however, the Golden Knights followed it up with a five-game losing streak. They will look to avoid that and instead extend their current winning streak when they take on the Kings in Los Angeles on Wednesday in the first half of a back-to-back, which wraps up Thursday in Las Vegas against the Maple Leafs.
The Golden Knights remain atop the Pacific Division standings with a three-point lead over the second-place Oilers and a five-point advantage over the Sharks with a game in hand over both.
Photo via Golden Knights