Story by Alan Snel Photos by J. Tyge O’Donnell
Just the facts: Vegas Golden Knights 3 San Jose Sharks 1
VGK goal scorers: Keegan Kolesar (6), Reilly Smith (15, 16)
Attendance: 17,819
Storyline: Solid VGK defense limited San Jose to 17 shots on goal
VGK record: 30-20-4 for 64 points, behind Calgary (70 points) and LA Kings (65 points) and one point ahead of Edmonton (63 points), with Anaheim at 61 points.
Milestone: VGK coach Pete DeBoer secured his 500th career win
VGK streak: 11 consecutive wins against San Jose
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As the Golden Knights look to rebound from losing two straight to Arizona and Colorado and play uneven hockey in a 4-5-1 stretch in the last 10 games, they welcomed the San Jose Sharks to the Strip.
The VGK have won 10 straight against the San Jose Sharks, including eight-for-eight in last season’s amended 56-game COVID campaign.
Technically speaking, the Knights played tonight in fourth place in the division after Edmonton blanked the Flyers, 3-0, in Philly earlier this today and leapfrogged into the third place playoff spot. San Jose entered the game with 54 points, eight behind VGK’s 62.
Less than three minutes into the game, the Golden Knights struck first thanks to a nice feed from fourth line center Brett Howden to Keegan Kolesar on the left side who fired a shot that beat San Jose netminder James Reimer.
The Knights controlled the first period, limiting San Jose to four shots. Jonathan Marchessault and Chandler Stephenson broke in Reimer with great scoring chances, but were stymied.
VGK led 1-0 after the first period.
PSA
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In period two, San Jose’s Noah Gregor scooped up the puck and fired home a goal to give the Sharks their first goal of the night, tying the score at one apiece.
The middle period was breezing along tied, 1-1, when Marchessault fed Misfits linemate Reilly Smith with a short pass and Smith beat Reimer.
The Knights reclaimed a one-goal lead, 2-1, after two periods.
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The Golden Knights didn’t go far for tonight’s sponsor of the game — it’s VGK owner Bill Foley’s wine society, with fans receiving a free glass as the game freebie.
Speaking of Foley, he bought an inn/vineyard in Oregon and here’s the story on the latest acquisition by Foley, Inc.
It’s also first responders night, with VGK players wearing red first responder warmup jerseys before the game.
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The Misfits Line hit the scoring sheet again in the third period as Smith scored his 16th goal off assists from William Karlsson and Marchessault.
The VGK led, 3-1, in the third. San Jose had only 11 shots on goal with 12 minutes left in the third period.
The Knights held on with goalie Robin Lehner back in action and registering the win.
Vegas plays Boston Thursday with a 6 PM start.