San Jose Sharks fans will remember the Game 7 that propelled them past the "hated" Vegas Golden Knights. That was the year that Cody Eakin was called for a major that should've been a minor for cross-checking Joe Pavelski, leading to Marc-André Fleury getting peppered with four goals.
That was essentially their Stanley Cup as they went on to beat the Colorado Avalanche in the Second Round. The bad news? They fell to the eventual Stanley Cup champions, the St. Louis Blues, as they went... blue. Credit to Brett Hull for that one. Beer's on me, buddy.
Indeed, you went Blues. Good job.
Anyway, this was supposed to be a big rivalry out west. It was supposed to be a battle between Californians and the state that didn't want any more mindless Californians coming in, Nevada. In a playoff sense, it certainly rings true as the Golden Knights barely hold a 7-6 edge. Each team has a series win and everyone's all square.
But the regular season is another beast. It shows the "rivalry" isn't as heated as people would love to think. And yes, that's a little jab at 20-year-old Sofia from Oxnard with the pink hair dyed over her blonde locks.
How lopsided has the Vegas Golden Knights-San Jose Sharks rivalry been?
If you want a perspective of how lopsided the Golden Knights-Sharks rivalry has been, look no further than the regular season record. The Golden Knights are 31-2-5 all-time against the Sharks in the regular season. The only two times the Golden Knights have ever lost in regulation to the Sharks were on January 10, 2019 (3-2) and on November 15, 2022 (5-2).
Mind you, both regulation losses came at T-Mobile Arena. That means that the Golden Knights haven't suffered a regulation defeat at SAP Center during the regular season ever. That's 10 years of a bellhop named Josh waiting to explode for his team to beat Vegas. You might want to get a doctor to see if your jewels are okay, Josh. I think they're beyond blue.
That raises an important question regarding the rivalry itself. Is it actually a rivalry or is it a mere projection of one team's insecurities. Think about it for a second. One team has a Stanley Cup and just made its third Stanley Cup Final. The other? Well, it only have one Stanley Cup Final appearance to its name, which happened to come against... Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins. Ouch.
Perhaps that changes with Macklin Celebrini in tow. Maybe the wunderkind player carries the team on his back and goes above and beyond the call to bring the Bay Area a Stanley Cup. While that's wishful thinking, it'll be tougher with a $18.8 million cap hit to work with.
Regardless, the current reality suggests that this is nothing more than a one-sided rivalry. One team doesn't take the other seriously and is rolling after making the Stanley Cup Final again. If that's a rivalry, you might as well call me a billionaire because I'm rich (I guess?). You can also say that Alex Nedeljkovic is a good goalie.
Good times, indeed.
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