Vegas Golden Knights: Main Takeaways from another win against the Sharks
It has been a perfect start to the 2019-20 NHL regular season for the Vegas Golden Knights after they cruised to a 5-1 success over the San Jose Sharks on Friday night.
Just a couple of days after they got the better of their bitter rivals in the season opener at T-Mobile Arena, the Vegas Golden Knights beat up on the Sharks again at SAP Center to start the year 2-0-0.
Marc-Andre Fleury, playing in his 800th NHL career game, stopped 34 of 35 shots in a stellar showing between the pipes while Tomas Nosek recorded two goals and one assist for the first three-point night of the bottom six forward’s career.
William Carrier, Jonathan Marchessault and Brayden McNabb all tallied their first goals of the year, and Mark Stone also helped himself to two assists to make it four points (one goal, three assists) in his first two games.
It was a dominant display overall from the Golden Knights who didn’t give the Sharks an inch, and they claimed a huge divisional win in the Pacific Division for the second consecutive game.
But, what did we learn from the Golden Knights’ second victory of 2019-20?
Let’s delve into our biggest takeaways from the contest…
1. These two teams really don’t like each other
The Vegas Golden Knights and the San Jose Sharks has now developed into one of, if not the greatest rivalry in the NHL.
And we aren’t even being biased.
Playing in the same division obviously helps to stoke the flames but meeting each other in the postseason in each of the last two years has really added fuel to the fire.
Not many people predicted that the Knights and the Sharks would develop such a passionate dislike for each other when Vegas entered the NHL in 2017, but a plethora of heated contests has created a glorious new rivalry that is a lot of fun to watch.
It reached boiling point in the playoffs last year after Vegas forward Cody Eakin was controversially assessed a five-minute major penalty and a game misconduct for a cross-check on Joe Pavelski, which shifted the momentum firmly into the Sharks’ favor and led to the Knights’ early postseason exit.
The bad taste left in the mouth from that Game 7 carried over into the preseason with Evander Kane handed a three-game suspension after losing the plot in the final exhibition game against the Knights and, after a fairly calm season opener between these two teams, all hell broke loose last night.
With a combined total of 76 PIM and 57 hits, a heated matchup reached an explosive crescendo late in the third period when a flurry of players came together after Barclay Goodrow had got San Jose on the board.
It culminated in a grand total of six players, yes six, chucked out of the game and handed Game Misconducts with Vegas losing William Karlsson, Deryk Engelland and Nic Hague, while the Sharks lost Marcus Sorensen, Joe Thornton and Barclay Goodrow.
It was a reminder that this new rivalry is as fierce and ferocious as ever, and we should be treated to plenty more fireworks throughout 2019-20.
2. PK getting the job done
We mentioned prior to the start of the 2019-20 regular season that special teams will be huge for the Vegas Golden Knights, and they are certainly doing their part after the first two games.
After killing all five of San Jose’s power play attempts in the home opener on Wednesday, the Knights repeated the trick on Friday after Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 11 of 11 shots on five man advantage attempts.
And, not only did the Knights prevent the Sharks from scoring on the power play, they also recorded two shorthanded goals to add to the one they scored on Wednesday.
Tomas Nosek and Brayden McNabb got the shorthanded efforts for Vegas, with William Karlsson picking up his second shorthanded assist of the year and Mark Stone also picked up a helper while shorthanded.
score goal, receive hug pic.twitter.com/aptuzvtgV7
— 🏆 - Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) October 5, 2019
The Golden Knights boast two penalty kill units that not only can shut down the other team’s powerplay, but they can also cause some damage themselves using speed, skill and pressure on the forecheck.
Karlsson and Reilly Smith form a deadly duo on the first PK unit and they are good for at least one high-danger chance every time they hit the ice, while the likes of Nosek, Brandon Pirri and William Carrier can slot in on the second unit and get the job done.
Vegas ranked 14th on the penalty kill in 2018-19 with a percentage of 80.9, but with the addition of William Carrier to the second unit, plus Alex Tuch when he is healthy, the Golden Knights should be vastly improved in that department this year and they’ve certainly made a positive start on the PK.
3. Depth Scoring comes through
Arguably the biggest flaw on the Vegas Golden Knights roster as it is currently constituted is lack of depth when it comes to secondary scoring.
The Knights will get a plethora of production from their potent and formidable top six forward unit, but there are question marks hovering over the bottom of the lineup.
However, they answered that question for one game at least on Friday after bottom six forwards contributed six points in total, led by a three-point night from Tomas Nosek who tallied two goals and an assist.
William Carrier recorded his first goal of the year while Brandon Pirri, Valentin Zykov and Nosek each registered an assist, and it would have been hugely encouraging for the coaching staff to see their depth forwards step up and play such a huge role in securing a second straight win.
The task now will be for the likes of Nosek, Pirri and Zykov to produce regular contributions throughout 2019-20, and if they can do that then the Golden Knights will be in a good place when it comes to competing for the Pacific Division title.
And there is one other positive factor at play here, too, which is that with Cody Glass doing everything in his power to cement the second line center role as his own, that could mean Paul Stastny remaining the third line pivot with Cody Eakin slotting in as the center of the fourth line when he is back healthy, which would add balance to this roster.
dark. Next. Three Stars from routing of the Sharks
You need contributions from up and down your lineup if you want to be successful and the Vegas Golden Knights certainly have the quality in their bottom six to be able to provide the secondary scoring they so crave.
That was proven on Friday.