The Sharks hit home ice for the first time
this preseason on Tuesday night as they hosted the Vegas Golden Knights at SAP
Center. As is the case every preseason, there was some good, some bad. Neither
team would score until the 3rd period, then Vegas converted an additional
chance in the shootout to take a 2-1 decision. Player evaluations is the name
of the game as both teams prepare for the start of the regular season in 2
weeks.
Vegas rolled out a prospect heavy lineup, similar to what San
Jose did in Anaheim on Sunday afternoon. San Jose countered with regulars Alex
Wennberg, Collin Graf, Tyler Toffoli, Michael Misa and Igor Chernyshov up
front. Dmitry Orlov was the only regular defenseman in the lineup in addition
to goaltender Yaroslav Askarov.
The Sharks had issued getting the
offense clicking, allowing Vegas to out-shoot them 7-5 in the opening frame.
The bigger hole came in the faceoff circle, where Vegas took 71% of the draws.
That gap made it difficult to go on the offensive without possessing
the puck.
San Jose would show more signs of life in the middle frame
where they out-shot Vegas 10-6. Carter Hart was up to the task, keeping the
Sharks off the board for two periods.
Askarov was also up to the task,
stopping 13 shots through the first 40 minutes of play.
A Joe Fleming elbowing penalty setup the Sharks 2nd
power play of the night 2:39 into the 3rd period. The Sharks would finally
solve Hart on the ensuing power play when Michael Misa punched home a
deflection off an Ivar Stenberg shot from the slot. Misa was lurking near the
right post when the puck landed perfectly on his stick for the quick put back.
Alexander Holtz tied the game 4 minutes later after he lifted a puck
over Askarov's blocker.
The Golden Knights were called for too many
men with 50.8 left in regulation but the Sharks would not take advantage. 70
seconds carried over into the overtime period when the two teams skated 4-on-3.
San Jose controlled the puck the majority of the overtime period but
could not get anything past Hart.
Vegas scored twice in the shootout
on tallies by Matyas Sapovaliv and BRaeden Bowman. Stenberg converted on his
chance but Hart denied Igor Chernyshov and Luca Cagnoni.
Game
Notes: * The Good: Ivar Stenberg gave Sharks fans a glimmer of
what's to come. The 2nd overall draft pick this past summer played a nice
two-way game and looked like he will fit in nicely. The rookie recorded 4 shots
on goal and converted in his shootout chance. Michael Misa had 4 shots on goal
and established himself in tough places.
* The Bad: Filip Bystedt
struggled in the faceoff circle, losing 8 of 11 draws. He got lost on the ice
at times, in a game where he really needed to show the Sharks brass that his
development has progressed.
* The Sharks got their first look at Jacob
Trouba who logged 19:12 of ice time on 20 shifts. The defenseman was a -1 with
1 shot and 1 blocked shot.
* Vegas won the faceoff battle with 31
faceoff wins on 56 chances (55%).
* San Jose continues with their
preseason schedule by hosting Anaheim on Thursday night. The number of games
each team will play is reduced this season, so the Sharks will only have two
more opportunities to evaluate players.
