On Sunday, the Vegas Golden Knights (21-11-12) played the second half of a back-to-back against the San Jose Sharks (23-19-3). After a tightly contested first period, they pulled ahead and took complete control of the game. Aided by an empty net, the Golden Knights rolled to a 7-2 victory.
The Golden Knights broke the ice at 7:19 in the first period. Jack Eichel won the offensive zone draw back to Mark Stone and drove the net. Macklin Celebrini blocked Jeremy Lauzon’s shot, but Ivan Barbashev got to the loose puck. Barbashev found Eichel atop the crease, and Eichel scored on the second attempt.
The Sharks answered back at 9:33 in the first. Collin Graf collected the puck in the offensive zone and found Jeff Skinner in the high slot. Zach Whitecloud blocked Skinner’s shot, but the puck bounced right to Graf, who beat Carl Lindbom far-side.
The Golden Knights took the lead again on the power play at 10:57 in the first. From atop the crease, Tomáš Hertl nudged Mark Stone’s pass over to Pavel Dorofeyev, who fired a shot past Yaroslav Askarov short-side.
In the second period, the Golden Knights broke free and took complete control of the game. They outshot the Sharks 11-5 and generated six high-danger scoring chances while allowing only two.
The Golden Knights extended their lead at 5:19 in the second. Mark Stone forced a takeaway and threaded a cross-ice pass to Jack Eichel in the left circle. Eichel stepped into his shot and fired a wrister that beat Yaroslav Askarov short-side.
The Golden Knights tacked on another on the power play at 11:00 in the second. Pavel Dorofeyev tried to find Mark Stone back-door, but his attempt went off of Timothy Liljegren. After a mad scramble in front of the net, Tomáš Hertl swept it home.
The Golden Knights added insult to injury at 12:25 in the second. Noah Hanifin worked it deep for Tomáš Hertl, who sent it back to the point for Zach Whitecloud. Whitecloud fired a one-timer that beat Yaroslav Askarov clean.
The Sharks got one back at 16:29 in the second. Timothy Liljegren gloved down Tyler Toffoli’s fluttering centering feed and evaded Alexander Holtz’s check. Liljegren drove deeper into the zone and set up Alexander Wennberg for a one-timer.
Both teams played a sloppy third period, broken up by a Golden Knights power play and nearly two minutes of 4-on-4 action.
The Sharks pulled Yaroslav Askarov for the extra attacker with over four minutes remaining in regulation, but they couldn’t chip away at the three-goal lead. Tomáš Hertl won a defensive zone draw, and Shea Theodore hit the empty net from downtown.
After Askarov returned to his crease, the Golden Knights completed the touchdown at 18:59 in the third. Pavel Dorofeyev found Tomáš Hertl in the right circle, and the former Shark ripped a one-timer past Askarov for his fifth point of the night.
The Sharks went quietly, and the remaining 1:01 of regulation ticked away. The Golden Knights swept the season series with yet another dominant 7-2 performance.
