On Tuesday night, the Vegas Golden Knights visited the San Jose Sharks, earning a 2-1 shootout victory over their Pacific Division rivals. It was a low-scoring goalie battle between Carter Hart and Yaroslav Askarov. The Golden Knights got goals from Alexander Holtz in regulation and shootout tallies from Matyas Sapovaliv and Braeden Bowman. Before Vegas hosts the Utah Mammoth on Thursday, let’s discuss their latest preseason triumph.
Hart is already in midseason form
Last year, Hart played his first NHL game in December, then had a lengthy break before returning to the crease in April. Then, famously, he led the Golden Knights to the Stanley Cup Final, skating every minute of the playoffs. He’s been brilliant early in his Vegas career, and that trend continued on Tuesday night against the Sharks. Facing one of the NHL’s up-and-coming teams, which was without Macklin Celebrini and his 115 points, Hart was great at shutting down the young players he’ll see all season long as Pacific Division rivals.
In overtime, he continued his brilliance, making seven saves, and then turned away two out of three shots in the shootout. Hart was positionally sound from start to finish and only had a handful of saves where it looked like he was reaching to stop the puck. If anyone wondered how sharp he’d be after his deep playoff run in the spring, he came out of the gate and gave the Golden Knights the confidence they needed to win.
Golden Knights Jekyll & Hyde preseason start
In their preseason opener against the Los Angeles Kings, the kids came out strong and picked up a 4-2 win over their California frenemies. Of course, none of Vegas’ stars, like Jack Eichel, Mark Stone, and Mitch Marner, have skated thus far in the preseason, and it showed on Tuesday night. The Golden Knights didn’t get a goal until there were roughly 12 minutes left in the game, and it was a true goalie battle without the stars. Hockey experts have questioned the franchise’s long-term stability without a deep prospect pool. Against the Sharks, with one of the league’s most talented prospect pools, Vegas had a hard time generating chances and lacked a true game-breaker.
On any given night in the regular season, the Golden Knights would be expected to defeat the Sharks, who have been one of the worst statistical teams in the league. Yet, on Tuesday, the home team, loaded with veterans and rookies, kept the superstar-less Vegas lineup to just a single goal in regulation. Going into their next contest against the Mammoth on Thursday, new head coach Ryan Craig will have some time to look at game tape and make adjustments, especially with some of the stars returning. It will be his first opportunity to see how they play in his system, which will be a new test for everyone.
Which Vegas youngsters are still looking for an NHL roster spot?
In the preseason opener, Jackson Hallum had two goals, giving his stock a bump. On Tuesday, Holtz had the Golden Knights’ only goal and had a presence on the ice in the third period. As one of the players under 25 in the lineup, he’s played close to 200 NHL games but isn’t a lock to begin the season in Vegas. Meanwhile, Bowman has had two strong games and is one of the leading candidates to stay with the Golden Knights and find a spot on the fourth line.
Considering that Vegas has all but locked up its top three lines, which are loaded with NHL veterans, what are the youngsters playing for? Realistically, most players from the first two preseason games will play with the Silver Knights and wait for a call-up opportunity. Injuries and slumps create opportunities for these players, so their preseason efforts go a long way with the coaching staff and upper management that oversee both the NHL and AHL clubs. Even though most of the Golden Knights lineup is locked in, a couple of the kids still have a slim chance to stay with the big club, which plays meaningful games next week.
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