Vegas Golden Knights Take Out San Jose Sharks In Six Games

It was grueling series, but the Vegas Golden Knights came out victorious against the San Jose Sharks.

After a huge win on Friday, the Vegas Golden Knights had a chance to eliminate the Sharks in San Jose Sunday evening. If there was one thing the team learned from Friday nights game, it was no game is over till the clock hits zero. The Golden Knights almost squandered a four-goal lead when the Sharks scored three straight times in the third period.

It may sound crazy, but that may have been the best thing to ever happen to them. Think about it, the team still ended up winning the game, and that third period taught them a valuable lesson moving forward. Head Coach Gerard Gallant can always go back to this game and remind the expansion club that anything can happen.

And speaking of Gallant, he made one change to his lineup heading into game six against San Jose. Due to William Carrier’s upper body injury, Ryan Reaves stepped into his spot on the fourth line for Vegas. Per usual, Marc-Andre Fleury got the start for the Golden Knights and Martin Jones for the Sharks.

The first period started off at slow for the first five minutes then the action started to pick up.  San Jose picked up the pace and had Vegas on the ropes during the entire first period. Tomas Hertl went on the breakaway in the late stages of the first frame, and he beat Fleury, but he couldn’t beat the post.

Nearly seconds after that chance, Hertl throws the puck from behind the net and Fleury jumped over the puck to avoid it bouncing off his skate and in. A robust heads-up play from the veteran goaltender.

The shots were in favor of the Golden Knights in the first period 12-11, but the Sharks had far more high-quality scoring chances. Vegas survived the first period and went into the first intermission with no score on the board. Anytime when you’re on the road in a playoff game, you would like to stay even on the scoreboard in the first period at least, and that’s exactly what the Golden Knights did in this one.

In the second period, the game slowed down a ton from the first frame. A good sign for the Golden Knights as the Sharks were pressing hard for that first goal. Sharks were finding traction early on in the second as well, but it was Vegas who got on the board first.

An uncharacteristic turnover from Marc-Edouard Vlasic created by Reilly Smith and William Karlsson got the whole play started. Karlsson poke-checked the puck away from Vlasic who was trying to exit the zone. Smith picked up the puck and found a wide-open Jonathan Marchessault in the slot who beat Jones five-hole for a 1-0 Vegas lead.

The Golden Knights weren’t done there either. Erik Haula gets thrown out of an offensive zone faceoff, and David Perron is forced to take it. Perron wins it to Haula, then saucers it to Nate Schmidt whose shot went off the bar and off the camera in the back of the net, but the play kept going. A good 15-20 seconds passed before the referees stopped the game and realized that was a goal.

The monster goal from Schmidt gave Vegas a big two-goal lead heading into the second intermission. Gallant’s message to his group in the second intermission was simple. Remember what this team did to us in game five, they can quickly strike back at any time.

The Golden Knights indeed received the message, and they dominated the third period. They looked like the team that was down 3-2 in the series from the way that they played in the third. Multiple scoring chances, puck possession and great defense from the Golden Knights led to a sharp final frame.

With Jones pulled, the Golden Knights had a chance for goal number three. Schmidt successfully cleared the puck out of danger, Ryan Carpenter won the race for the puck and had a clear shot for the goal against his former team. He instead makes the unselfish play and passes it to Cody Eakin for the goal to wrap up this game and the series.

The clock struck zero, and the Vegas Golden Knights are going to the Western Conference Finals. Can you imagine that? An expansion team in their inaugural season is heading to the final four of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. What the Golden Knights are doing is simply unprecedented and won’t ever happen again.

This was a great series, and we need to give credit to the San Jose Sharks. This was an entertaining series from start to finish, and the Sharks battled till the final horn sounded. I can’t wait to see what next years regular season series between these two teams have in store for us.

Vegas Hockey Knight’s Three Stars

3rd Star) Nate Schmidt- One goal, one assist, +3, two shots on goal and 24:02 TOI.

2nd Star) Jonathan Marchessault- Game-winning goal, +1, two shots on goal and 17:26 TOI.

1st Star) Marc-Andre Fleury- 28 saves on 28 shots, 4th shutout of the playoffs.

Next: Vegas Golden Knights: Defense And Goaltending Led To Victory Over Kings

All in all, the better team won, and now the Vegas Golden Knights await their next opponent in the Western Conference Finals. No matter if its the Nashville Predators or Winnipeg Jets, the Golden Knights will have their hands full. Vegas may be the underdog for the rest of these playoffs, but it’s a role that they have thrived in all season long.