Vegas Golden Knights: Three takeaways from preseason finale
The Vegas Golden Knights closed out the preseason with a 5-1 demolition of bitter rivals the San Jose Sharks at T-Mobile Arena on Sunday afternoon.
In what was the final dress rehearsal before the Vegas Golden Knights host the Sharks in their 2019-20 regular season opener on Wednesday, there were plenty of nuggets to digest from what was a truly explosive game.
Despite it still being an exhibition game, the two teams displayed their dislike for one another after combining for a stunning 50 hits and 114 penalty minutes, which has got to be some kind of record for a preseason game.
It was a game that was edgy, fiery, gritty and full of snarl and it sets the scene perfectly for Wednesday when the Knights and the Sharks will do battle in a game that actually counts and will have points on the line.
In other words, the 2019-20 regular season opener is going to be tasty and we haven’t even mentioned the fact that Vegas’ first road trip of the new year happens to be in San Jose on Friday.
In terms of the game itself, it proved to a comfortable cakewalk by the Knights who held a four goal lead thanks to tucks from William Carrier, Jimmy Schuldt, Jonathan Marchessault and Mark Stone. Danil Yurtaykin did get the Sharks on the board but Reilly Smith struck back for the Knights and that completed the scoring.
It was the perfect way to sign off from the preseason and there were a plethora of storylines to unpack from the clash. Here are our three big takeaways from the Vegas Golden Knights’ final exhibition game…
1. No Love Lost
The Vegas Golden Knights and the San Jose Sharks don’t like each other. And that is a severe understatement. They really don’t like each other.
That was proven on Sunday night when they combined for 50 hits and a staggering 114 total penalty minutes. Keep in mind, this was an exhibition game with the 2019-20 regular season opener between these two teams not taking place until Wednesday.
There were penalties galore throughout the game and it really exploded in the third period as tensions boiled over and an all-out slugfest threatened to break out. And, guess what? Sharks forward Evander Kane was at the heart of it all.
He dropped the gloves with Valentin Zykov, with the Golden Knights forward equipping himself extremely well by the way, before deciding to get into it with Deryk Engelland and an official, which led to two 10-minute game misconducts, including one for abuse of officials.
That was just the tip of the iceberg, however. Sharks defenseman Brenden Dillon was also assessed a 10-minute misconduct, while Mark Stone and Marc-Edouard Vlasic got into it, as did Vlasic and Tomas Nosek.
Put simply, the game resembled more of a scene straight out of Fight Club than an actual hockey contest and there is certainly no love lost between these two franchises, who have developed a fierce rivalry after locking horns in the postseason in each of the last two years.
And we haven’t even started the proper stuff yet, which means we could be in for one hell of a show on Wednesday night. Some of what took place on Sunday is sure to carry over into the regular season opener, and don’t be surprised if Ryan Reaves and Evander Kane get into it on a couple of occasions, unless of course the latter is suspended following his meltdown against the officials.
2. Schuldt or Hague?
There is still one big question mark hovering over the opening night roster and it centers around who will win the one remaining roster spot on the blueline. It has been a fascinating storyline for the duration of Training Camp and the preseason and it should come to a head in the immediate future.
What started out as a five-way slugfest between five rookie defensemen will end as a three-way battle between Jimmy Schuldt, Nic Hague and veteran Nick Holden, who pleaded with the coaching staff not to forget about him by going out and enjoying a solid preseason.
Personally, and we mentioned this in a piece on Sunday, we wouldn’t start 2019-20 with Holden on the opening night roster due to the fact that he would more than likely be placed on a bottom defensive pairing alongside Deryk Engelland, and that has all the ingredients to be a disaster due to the pair’s lack of speed and how they both play the game.
Instead, one of Schuldt or Hague have got this far and they both deserve to be on the opening night lineup card in truth. However, there is only room for one although Vegas Head Coach Gerard Gallant has hinted that the Golden Knights could carry eight defensemen on the roster to start the year.
But only one of Schuldt or Hague will play against the San Jose Sharks on Wednesday and both did everything they could when given their final chance to impress on Sunday night.
Hague was held without a point but he logged 22:12 minutes of total ice time, including time on both the power play and the penalty kill, while he registered two shots on goal, two hits and one blocked shot. And, by the way, Hague’s 22:12 minutes of total ice time led all Vegas skaters on Sunday.
Schuldt, meanwhile, also played out of his skin and he finished the game with a goal and an assist for two points, a plus/minus rating of +2 and 20:59 minutes of total ice time, including 2:37 on the power play and 1:49 on the penalty kill.
Hague arguably brings more to the table in terms of his extraordinary reach, imposing physicality, offensive upside and his calm demeanour, although Schuldt was the young phenom coming out of college and he certainly proved on Sunday that he can also produce in the offensive zone too as well as being responsible in his own zone.
Both players performed admirably in their final audition and we should find out in the next day or two whether it is Nic Hague set to make his NHL debut on Wednesday or whether Jimmy Schuldt has won the race to begin the year as a big league defenseman.
3. Top Guns Ready To Roll
As expected, the Vegas Golden Knights played the vast majority of their big stars on Sunday with only a few exceptions, most notably Nate Schmidt who was a healthy scratch while Alex Tuch (week-to-week) and Cody Eakin (day-to-day) both missed out through injury.
The top line we’ve all come to love, featuring Jonathan Marchessault, William Karlsson and Reilly Smith were reunited, while Cody Glass centered a second line with Max Pacioretty and Mark Stone as his wings due to the injury to Cody Eakin.
More from Vegas Hockey Knight
- The moment the Vegas Golden Knights have been waiting for
- 3 Golden Knights players deserving of the Conn Smythe Trophy
- If Golden Knights win Stanley Cup, who should Mark Stone pass it to first?
- Why are Vegas Golden Knights fans obsessed with flamingos?
- Just one more game for Golden Knight supremacy
As a result, Paul Stastny centered the third line alongside Brandon Pirri and Valentin Zykov, while Ryan Reaves made his preseason debut after recovering from an injury sustained during summer workouts, reuniting on the fourth line with William Carrier and Tomas Nosek.
Marc-Andre Fleury got the start in goal with Shea Theodore, Brayden McNabb, Jon Merrill and Deryk Engelland getting their final tune-up of the preseason, while rookies Jimmy Schuldt and Nic Hague completed the blueline unit.
And Vegas’ top dogs delivered on a night they outclassed the Sharks, with Marchessault, Karlsson and Smith all recording a two-point night, while Max Pacioretty finished his hot streak in the preseason with an assist to extend his tally in exhibition games to 10 points (four goals, six assists).
Next. Projecting the opening night roster. dark
Mark Stone also got on the scoreboard and it was clear to see that the Golden Knights’ loaded roster of heavy hitters are dialled in and ready and raring to go once the regular season gets underway on Wednesday.
Wins and losses don’t matter in preseason, of course, but it was important to see established stars and veterans dominate the final exhibition game and hopefully they can take that form into Wednesday’s regular season curtain raiser against the Sharks.