7 Observations: Golden Knights Get UNBELIEVABLY Lucky, Earn First Win

The Vegas Golden Knights (1-0-1) entered tonight’s game in search of their first win of the season. Looking at these two rosters on paper, they should have cruised to a regulation win. Instead, they chased the game for three straight periods. But after a truly unbelievable finish, they tied the game and beat the San Jose Sharks (0-0-1) 4-3 in overtime.

Right from puck drop, it was evident that the Golden Knights didn’t have enough jump, and the Sharks broke the ice 5:31 into the first period. Ty Dellandrea entered the zone and tried to find Dmitry Orlov, but his pass went off Zach Whitecloud’s skate and towards the Golden Knights’ net. Akira Schmid kept the puck out but couldn’t cover, and Jeff Skinner crashed the net and batted in his own rebound.

The Golden Knights answered back and tied the game less than three minutes later. The Sharks failed to clear the puck, and Brett Howden corralled it at the blue line. He blew around Barclay Goodrow, cut between Shakir Mukhamadullin and Dmitry Orlov, waited out Alex Nedeljkovic, and scored.

In the second period, the typically disciplined Golden Knights got themselves into some serious penalty trouble. They killed off the first, but found themselves on the wrong side of a 5-on-3 after Tomáš Hertl and Mitch Marner committed boarding and slashing minors, respectively.

The Sharks regained the lead on the two-man advantage seven minutes into the second. John Klingberg held the zone and set William Eklund up for a one-timer. Brayden McNabb blocked Eklund’s shot, but Alexander Wennberg cleaned up the change from atop the crease.

At 14:22 in the second period, the Golden Knights pulled even on a power play opportunity of their own. Like they did twice yesterday, Jack Eichel worked the puck to Mark Stone below the goal line. Stone threaded a cross-ice pass to Pavel Dorofeyev through a sliding Timothy Liljegren, and Dorofeyev one-timed a blast past Alex Nedeljkovic.

The Golden Knights once again came out flat to start the period, and the Sharks made them pay. Dmitry Orlov one-timed a blast from the point; Jeremy Lauzon lost his man in front of the net and Philipp Kurashev tipped it home.

After squandering a late power play opportunity, the Golden Knights pulled Schmid with 2:23 remaining in regulation. They struggled to establish the zone and seemed destined to lose their first game to the Sharks at SAP Center.

And then, the unthinkable happened. 

Tyler Toffoli sprung William Eklund, who raced towards the empty net with a head of steam. Jack Eichel made a diving play for the puck, knocking it away from Eklund and wide of the goal. Eklund recovered the puck, but Shea Theodore denied his wraparound attempt. Eichel powered up ice past Toffoli and dumped the puck in at the red line. 

Somehow, someway, Alex Nedeljkovic misplayed the puck… and it trickled through him and into the net.

And just like that, the Golden Knights tied a game they had no business still being in.

In overtime, the Golden Knights’ luck improved— or, more appropriately, the Sharks’ luck worsened. Alex Nedeljkovic left the net to play the puck, but hesitated with Reilly Smith bearing down on him. Shea Theodore collected the puck and found Smith wide open in front of the empty net. 

They don’t ask how, they ask how many. 

Three stars of the game: Reilly Smith, Jeff Skinner, Philipp Kurashev

7 Golden Knights Observations

1. The Golden Knights didn’t have ‘it’ for most of the night. I’d say that 99 times out of 100, a game like today’s will result in a regulation loss. But tonight, the hockey gods were either feeling gracious or cruel— you decide. 

2. Brett Howden was very good tonight. He scored on a heroic individual effort, drew a penalty, and recorded two hits. He’s picking up right where he left off last season, and that’s a very good thing for the Golden Knights.  

3. Jeremy Lauzon struggled again tonight. He was on the ice for two goals against, and lost his man both times. 

4. The Golden Knights are typically a very disciplined team. Tonight, they were far from it. A few of the calls— like the ones on William Karlsson and Mitch Marner— were soft. But Tomáš Hertl earned his four minutes in the box. He recorded 20 PIMs all of last season; he earned a fifth of that tonight. 

5. It was another solid game for Pavel Dorofeyev, who drew a penalty and scored on the ensuing power play. You can say that Mark Stone did most of the work setting the goal up. But at the end of the day, you still have to put the puck in the back of the net, and Dorofeyev has done that four times through two games.  

6. The Golden Knights have an exceptional fourth line– I’d wager a guess that it’s one of the better ones in the league. They won’t score every game, and their advantage won’t always be as lopsided as it was tonight. But having a good fourth line will give them an edge and keep them in games (like tonight) where their top nine doesn’t have it at 5-on-5.

7. Ben Hutton drew in for Noah Hanifin. Hanifin was injured in overtime on Wednesday against the Los Angeles Kings and didn’t make the trip with the team to San Jose. That’s something to monitor.