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Sharks get teeth kicked in by
Knights
Vegas runs roughshod on SJ in 7-3
win
The Sharks completed about as bad a home stand as
they come on Monday night. San Jose ended their third consecutive game at SAP
Center in flaming dumpster fire fashion, losing 7-3 to the Vegas Golden
Knights. The Sharks were outscored 15-7 in that three game tilt, but none was
worse than Monday night's disaster. San Jose surrendered 3 power play goals to
a team that hadn't scored multiple goals on the man advantage since December.
The game was reminiscent of the playoff series that propelled the
Knights to the Western Conference Finals last season, and ended the Sharks
season. San Jose had no answer for a Knights team that scored at will and in
every facet of the game.
Things started promisingly for the Sharks
when Logan Couture scored 30 seconds into the game. The Sharks swarmed the
Vegas zone off the opening faceoff, which resulted in a pair of quick scoring
chances by Couture, but he just missed on those opportunities. He wouldn't fail
on the third chance, which was created when Brendan Dillon fired a pass to
Couture on the doorstep. The Sharks centerman gathered a rebound of his initial
attempt then slid it around Malcolm Subban's left pad.
The Knights
responded 3 minutes later when William Karlsson converted his 20th goal of the
season. Timo Meier was tasked with holding the blueline, which he whiffed on
miserably, allowing Karlsson to skate on a breakaway chance. Logan Couture
tried to back check, but his diving stick wave actually knocked the puck right
to Karlsson's stick, allowing him to slip it past Martin Jones for the 101 tie.
Mark Stone gave the Knights the 2-1 lead on a power play goal at 5:48
after Micheal Haley was sent off for interference. The Knights rushed up the
left wing, drawing the Sharks defense tot he strong side. Couture was caught in
no-man's land when Reilly Smith sent a pass across the slot to a trailing Stone
for the one-time deposit.
Joe Thornton caught Subban napping midway
through the period, when he carried a puck up the right wing before cutting
across the high slot and snapping a 60 foot shot that seemed to surprise the
Knights goaltender. Subban tried waving his glove at the shot, but it eluded
him for Thornton's 16th goal of the season.
San Jose may have given
the game away with 7:36 left in the period when Jones overplayed an attack by
Jonathan Marchessault on the left side, allowing the Knight forward to snap a
snot across the goalmouth for his 23rd of the season.
Peter DeBoer had
enough of the Sharks goaltending or soft defense, and pulled Jones. Aaron Dell
replaced Jones, and held the fort for the remainder of the period.
The
Sharks found themselves in the penalty box for a fifth time in the game when
Joe Thornton was called for interference at 10:46 of the period. Vegas
converted when Paul Stastny punched home a chance from the doorstep to make it
a 4-2 Knights lead.
Smith made it a 5-2 game when he scored from a tight
angle on the right side. The Knights worked the puck across the sharks blueline
then Karlsson spun a backhand pass form the slot to the right corner for the
quick shot attempt. Dell tried flailing his glove hand out to stop the attempt
but it was well short.
A Colin Miller high sticking penalty midway
through the period setup a power play goal by Couture to cut the Knights lead
to a pair of goals. The Sharks forward snapped a shot from the high slot,
beating Subban for his second score of the game.
The Knights tacked on
two more goals just for the heck of it. Jonathan Marchessault scored an empty
net goal after DeBoer somehow felt his team had a comeback in them. Cody Eakin
would then add another power play goal after Barclay Goodrow was sent off for
slashing late.
Game Notes:
* Joe Pavelski was a scratch
for what is believed to be a possible knee injury that he sustained against
Nashville on Saturday night. Pavelski was checked awkwardly into the boards,
and it appeared that his leg was caught as his body twisted into the boards. It
was the first injury related scratch for Pavelski since 2011.
* Reilly
Smith was named first star after posting a career high 4-point game. Smith
scored a goal and added three assists.
* The setback was especially
disturbing given that the Knights played on Sunday night while the Sharks got
an extra day of rest. Vegas played a much more aggressive game, taking
advantage of the Sharks absence of hitting.
* Logan Couture scored his
500th career point.
* Colin Miller was the only Knight not to register
a shot on goal for Vegas. Reilly Smith, Shea Theodore and Jonathan Marchessault
combined for 16 shots on goal.
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Feeder Forums |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| VGK |
3 |
1 |
2 |
6 |
| SJ |
2 |
0 |
1 |
3 |
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| 1st period - 1, SJ,
Couture 25 (Dillon, Nyquist), 0:30. 2, VGK, Karlsson 20 (Marchessault, Smith),
3:37. 3, VGK, Stone 32 (Smith, Marchessault), 5:48, (pp). 4, SJ, Thornton 16
(unassisted), 9:54. 5, VGK, Marchessault 23 (Smith), 12:24. |
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| 2nd period - 6, VGK,
Stastny 10 (Pacioretty, Miller), 12:21, (pp). |
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| 3rd period - 7, VGK,
Smith 15 (Karlsson), 0:43. 8, SJ, Couture 26 (Burns, Labanc), 10:55, (pp). 9,
VGK, Marchessault 24 (Schmidt, Engelland), 17:39, (en). 10, VGK, Eakin 19
(Theodore, Schmidt), 18:22, (pp). |
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| 1st period - Haley, SJ
(interference), 5:24; Marchessault, VGK (unsportsmanlike conduct), 8:04;
Labanc, SJ (unsportsmanlike conduct), 8:04; Haley, SJ (roughing), 15:23; Bench,
SJ (too many men), 17:08; Tuch, VGK (holding), 18:53. |
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| 2nd period - McNabb, VGK
(cross checking), 1:44; Kane, SJ (high sticking), 3:26; Holden, VGK (high
sticking), 6:57; Thornton, SJ (interference), 10:46. |
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| 3rd period - Miller, VGK
(holding), 2:28; Miller, VGK (high sticking), 10:34; Goodrow, SJ (slashing),
18:11. |
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Shots |
Saves |
| VGK - Subban |
39 |
37 |
| SJ - Jones |
11 |
8 |
| SJ - Dell |
30 |
27 |
| SJ - empty net |
1 |
0 |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| VGK |
16 |
14 |
12 |
42 |
| SJ |
9 |
13 |
17 |
39 |
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| Referees: Rank,
Schlenker. Linesmen: Galloway, Nansen. |
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