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March 28, 2024

Golden Knights ‘outplayed’ in ‘every facet’ of playoff loss to Sharks

VGK VS  Sharks: Game 1

Ben Margot/AP Photo

Linesman Steve Miller, center, separates San Jose Sharks’ Evander Kane, left, from Vegas Golden Knights’ Jonathan Marchessault during the second period of Game 1 of an NHL hockey first-round playoff series Wednesday, April 10, 2019, in San Jose, Calif.

Updated Thursday, April 11, 2019 | 10:38 a.m.

VGK VS Sharks: Game 1

Vegas Golden Knights goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, right, and San Jose Sharks' Micheal Haley (18) tangle during the third period of Game 1 of an NHL hockey first-round playoff series Wednesday, April 10, 2019, in San Jose, Calif. Launch slideshow »
Vegas Golden Podcast

April Madness

Justin Emerson and Case Keefer celebrate the start of the Stanley Cup Playoffs by filling out their brackets all the way to the final. That comes only after a talk on all the key figures and matchups of the Vegas Golden Knights' first-round series against the San Jose Sharks.

SAN JOSE, Calif. — The best encapsulation of the Golden Knights’ Wednesday evening came when Tomas Hertl scored his empty-net goal with 1:49 remaining for the Sharks.

It wasn’t that his goal ended the game — it was basically over long before then — but his goal underscored Vegas’ issues slowing down San Jose’s special teams. The Sharks scored at 5-on-4, 4-on-4, 3-on-3 and 5-on-6, as well as netting a 5-on-5 goal as the Golden Knights dropped Game 1 of the postseason, 5-2 at SAP Center.

“When you come to the playoffs, obviously special teams is the key,” forward Pierre-Edouard Bellemare said. “It’s the playoffs. Nobody said it was going to be easy.”

It started with a mad rush in the second period for San Jose after four Golden Knights players went to the box. Brent Burns cashed in first at 3-on-3, then Marc-Edouard Vlasic did so at 4-on-4. All this after a first-period power-play goal, and the Sharks led 3-0 by virtue of three special-teams goals.

Vegas got one back as all the penalties were expiring on Mark Stone’s goal, and the game returned to 5-on-5. But that wasn’t any better for the Golden Knights. The second period was a disaster as they managed just five shots on goal, nine shot attempts and three scoring chances at 5-on-5.

“As a unit of five, we just weren’t good enough tonight,” forward Max Pacioretty said. “We try to figure out why and get to work tomorrow.”

San Jose netted the dagger as time expired in the second. The Golden Knights tried to clear the puck out of their own zone with 17 seconds left, but Erik Karlsson sent it back toward the net, where Evander Kane was there to redirect the shot and into the goal for a 4-1 lead.

“They outplayed us in every facet of the game tonight,” coach Gerard Gallant said. “We weren’t close to good enough.”

Vegas’ best advantage in the game was between the pipes, where Marc-Andre Fleury is a decided upgrade over San Jose counterpart Martin Jones. But Jones did not have a busy first two periods. The Sharks’ defense kept the puck away from Jones, who needed to make only nine saves through the first 40 minutes.

“You can’t win a game when you have a lot of turnovers and then when you have barely any shots on the net,” Bellemare said.

Vegas pressured him better in the third with 16 shots, but only one got through, which was not nearly at enough at that point in the game. Stone added a power play goal, but the goal differential stayed the same after Hertl’s empty-netter. Jones made 24 saves, and Burns, Vlasic and Karlsson each had two points for the Sharks.

The Golden Knights’ third-period surge helped mask some issues where the stat sheet is concerned. Vegas finished just three 5-on-5 shot attempts shy of San Jose and four fewer scoring chances. After two periods though, the Sharks’ Corsi advantage was 12, and a 4-1 lead going to the third is tough to overcome.

The Golden Knights were the league’s third-best 5-on-5 possession team in the regular season, controlling 54.4 percent of shot attempts. But San Jose was the best in the league at 54.9, and showed Wednesday night and even if the Golden Knights were ready for what it was going to bring, they couldn’t stop it.

“They didn’t do anything different from what we expected,” Gallant said. “Our guys got to be ready to play more competitive hockey than we played tonight.”

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