Vegas Golden Knights: Fans Leave Disappointed After Double OT Loss

Golden Knights lost to the San Jose Sharks in double overtime on Sunday. The Sharks evened the series at three games a piece and will see each other for a loser goes home match on Tuesday April 23rd in San Jose.

Las Vegas is a party city but the feeling on the strip and around the T-Mobile arena on Sunday, after a brutal loss to the San Jose Sharks, was disappointment as thousands of deflated fans left the arena. The Golden Knights were unable to close out the series at home not only losing but also falling short in a tense double overtime game in what ended up being decided by a shorthanded goal. That goal was scored by Tomas Hertl who guaranteed a Game 7 and did his part to make it happen.

The T-Moblie arena sits right on the strip and all the bars are restaurants had watch parties and the sound of the game could be heard anywhere you walked. The only time that area feels local is during Golden Knights games and Golden Knights playoff games draw even bigger crowds to a corner of the city not meant for locals at all.

There were still a lot of disinterested people walking around. The disinterest is what let you know they were tourists who don’t care for hockey. You didn’t need to check identification to find the Las Vegans, they were standing, pacing, holding two cups of beer (all the two for one deals means a lot of double beer fisting) and sitting on the edges of their seats as the Knights played better, stronger and faster than the Sharks in the first overtime period. Nonetheless they did not get the same outcome against Martin Jones they were used to.

Martin Jones, the goaltender whose number the Knights were supposed to have, had 58 saves on 59 shots on goal. The Golden Knights were more physical with their 80 hits to the Sharks 39. This was everything we wanted, yet somehow the score wasn’t what we wanted.

Now the Golden Knights have to go to enemy territory to advance. Consider it lucky that Tomas Hertl isn’t guaranteeing a win but guaranteeing that they will try their best.

Nothing has changed from the Game 6 preview written before the puck dropped. Fleury has to play better and play through his mysterious ailments. We need a line, even if it isn’t the formerly hot line of Stone – Stastny – Pacioretty, to lead the way. And we need to stay physical which we haven’t done as well in the Tank in San Jose, so far away from home.

Game 7 is on Tuesday, April 23rd in San Jose. Find somewhere to watch it where you can be with a community in Las Vegas of hockey fans, if that place is in your living room with your kids or at a sports bar it doesn’t matter. So long as you’re cheering GO KNIGHTS GO!

What do the Golden Knights need to do to finish with more goals on Tuesday? Is there anything they should change?