It's no secret the Vegas Golden Knights have dominated the San Jose Sharks in the all-time series. They have a record of 25-2-5 against their rivals from California, blowing their competition out of the water. Sure, there might be a 7-6 postseason record against the Sharks. But the Bay Area team has provided the Golden Knights with easy points every time they've played.
Putting things into perspective, the Golden Knights have earned at least a point in all but two games against the Sharks all-time. That includes five overtime/shootout losses where Vegas has earned a point. Be sure to thank San Jose for their friendly contributions to Vegas's all-time success, Golden Knights fans. Tips are optional.
So let's examine those two regulation losses. Of course, the Golden Knights didn't get any points in both games, which is a rarity. However, looking at these games will reveal how lopsided the series has been overall. Part of that is the Golden Knights being overwhelmingly successful while the other is the Sharks being incompetent.
What do these losses reveal about the rivalry? What will fans take away from these contests as the two teams square off again on Friday? It seems that Tomas Hertl has jumped to the winning side now, getting into the "fun must be always" spirit. Get your No. 2 pencils and notebooks out because it's time to go to class.
What can we learn about the two regulation losses to the San Jose Sharks?
The two regulation losses to the San Jose Sharks happened on January 10, 2019, and November 15, 2022. During that stretch, the Vegas Golden Knights got a point against San Jose in 18 straight games. That included 11 consecutive wins from December 22, 2019, to March 1, 2022. That's nearly three years of winning against the Sharks, even in a COVID-19 period.
But what about the two regulation losses? Let's look at the loss on January 10, 2019, first. This was a 3-2 victory by San Jose, with it being their first regulation win against the Golden Knights. The first overall win came on March 22, 2018, in a overtime goal scored by Logan Couture. Tomas Hertl and Marc-Edouard Vlasic assisted on the goal.
But let's go back to January 10, 2019, for a second. The Golden Knights were actually up in this game, 2-1. Jon Merrill scored a third-period goal to give Vegas the lead with 17:44 left. However, Melker Karlsson and Joonas Donskoi responded with goals of their own under a minute apart, giving San Jose its first regulation win in the series.
The other game wasn't as close, with the Sharks securing a 5-2 victory on November 15, 2022. Here, the Golden Knights took a 2-1 lead into the third period. However, the Sharks responded with four unanswered goals, blowing out Vegas. That consisted of goals by Matt Nieto, Timo Meier (power play), Logan Couture, and Mario Ferraro (the latter two being empty net goals).
So what can we learn about these two games? The main takeaway is the series has been much more lopsided than it appears. The Golden Knights had the lead in both regulation losses, meaning they could've gotten a point minimum if they held serve. It also shows how Vegas has taken advantage of the Sharks rebuilding in the series. Need a quick point or two? San Jose's here for you. The Golden Knights look to continue their hot streak against the Sharks and the league on Friday. Will it be business as usual and should San Jose bring brown pants? Stay tuned.