It was a winning start to the 2019-20 NHL regular season for the Vegas Golden Knights who made light work of the San Jose Sharks in a 4-1 victory at T-Mobile Arena on opening night.
Renewing a rivalry that has developed a real fiery edge over the last two years, the Vegas Golden Knights looked dialled in from the very first drop of the puck and they went on to dominate the game, feeding off an electric atmosphere in what was a packed and raucous home barn.
Cody Glass, the Knights’ first-ever draft pick in franchise history, scored his first NHL goal on his debut in the big leagues, while Reilly Smith got on the board with two goals including a shorthanded effort.
Mark Stone also scored his first tuck of the year and William Karlsson recorded a two-point night, while Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 21 of the 22 shots fired at him, including going six-for-six on the penalty kill.
It was a complete team performance from the Golden Knights who absolutely beat up on the Sharks, who were without Erik Karlsson due to a personal issue and Evander Kane because of suspension.
Vegas outshot San Jose 35-22 and also came out better in the faceoff circle with a win percentage of 53 percent, compared to the Sharks’ 47 percent.
It was the perfect way to raise the curtain on the Knights’ third year as an NHL franchise and they showed no signs of early-season rust, excelling in every single area and sending out a clear message to the Pacific Division from the very get-go that they mean business in 2019-20.
Here are our three biggest takeaways from the Vegas Golden Knights’ 4-1 opening night victory over the San Jose Sharks…