On Saturday night, the Vegas Golden Knights wrapped up their preseason schedule by dropping a 4-2 contest to the young San Jose Sharks at T-Mobile Arena. After falling behind 2-0, the Fortress finally came to life when Tomas Hertl scored on the power play in the second, while Nic Dowd tied the contest early in the third. However, the resilient Sharks kept firing pucks up high on Carter Hart, who finished the night with a .750 SV%, one of his worst statistical outings with Vegas. Considering the home team dominated for stretches, they seemed to run out of gas in the third, and the chances dried up. Now, questions will linger about their latest performance heading into the season opener.
Do the Golden Knights have a new Pacific Division problem?
Heading into the regular season, many hockey experts have wondered if the Golden Knights have enough firepower to replace the 30-plus goals Pavel Dorofeyev scored in each of the last two seasons. Considering the stars in the Vegas lineup, the solution to that potential problem would come from within. On Saturday night, in the preseason finale, the Golden Knights had 30 shots and managed to score only two goals against Yaroslav Askarov, an NHL starter.
For the past few seasons, the Sharks have been written off as an easy two points and have never threatened the Golden Knights. Through two periods, they had just five shots on goal, yet two had found the back of the net. Then, they found a new gear in the third period, outshooting the home team and tacking on two more goals. Considering that newly minted captain Macklin Celebrini just set a franchise record with 115 points as a 19-year-old, San Jose has turned a corner.
Most fans would be like, “It’s just preseason, and the games don’t matter,” but Vegas rolled out their NHL lineup on Saturday and went head-to-head with the Sharks' top guys. Unfortunately, a shot at an undefeated preseason went up in smoke, and the Golden Knights now go into the regular season after a clunker.
Golden Knights need more than just shot volume
In the first period, Vegas had a comfortable edge in shots, 13-2, and extended that lead to 25-5 after the second period. At that point, the Golden Knights were on pace for over 40 shots on goal, a number they reached only one time during the 2025-26 season. However, they didn’t get the same chances in the final period, registering just five shots to finish at 30, a total they are all too familiar with. Under Bruce Cassidy and John Tortorella, Vegas recorded 30 or more shots in just 38 games last season, or 46.3% of its contests. Saturday marked the second consecutive game with at least 30 shots, but the Golden Knights have just seven goals to show for those 60-plus attempts.
At least with the NHL regulars in the lineup, the Golden Knights found more chances to generate opportunities. Yet it's clear there are still kinks to work out between head coach Ryan Craig and the players. Everything is new with their third head coach in one year, but the message remains the same: the Golden Knights need to make an impression on opening night against the Chicago Blackhawks. Thankfully, a few days and practices remain before the real games start, giving Vegas plenty of time to discuss what went wrong in the third period against the Sharks. Ultimately, they need to figure out why the chances dried up and the shots on goal disappeared as the time wound down.
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