SAN JOSE, Calif. – The San Jose Sharks jumped to the lead in their series, with a 5-2 win over the Golden Knights in game one of the Pacific Division at the SAP Center.
Last season these two teams faced one another in the second round, with the Golden Knights winning 4-2, going on to the Stanley Cup Finals. In their first game last season, Vegas opened with a 7-0 victory at home.
The Sharks finished this season in second place, with 101 points and a record of 46-27-9. They ranked second in the NHL in goals for the season with 289, sixth in points and ninth in total wins. They had the sixth best power play in the league, converting 23.6 percent of their chances. All time against the Golden Knights the Sharks are 3-4-1 in the regular season.
The Golden Knights finished the season with 93 points, and a final record of 43-32-7.
In the net for the Golden Knights, Marc-Andre Fleury, who finished the season with a 2.51 goals against average and a .913 save percentage.
Marc-Andre Fleury – File Photo by Jack Lima
San Jose’s Martin Jones got the start in the Sharks net for game one. He finished the season with a 3.17 goals against average and a .886 save percentage.
With 5:18 remaining in the first period, Brent Burns drew first blood, literally, when his shot from the slot ricocheted off of Joe Pavelski’s face into the back of the net. Incidentally, Pavelski stayed on the ice for the next puck drop, but didn’t return until a minute into the second period. Late in the period Timo Meier took a stick to the chin, but it wasn’t seen by officials. Both forwards missed the end of the period getting medical aid. Pavelski returned with a full facemask for the remainder of the game.
Joe Pavelski – File photo by Jack Lima
In the second period, the physical play continued. With 13:01 remaining, and Pavelski just coming out of the box for a poor tripping call, Burn’s shot from the circle went in opposite side of the net to put the Sharks up 2-0.
Less than a minute later, Marc-Edouard Vlasic received a shot from behind the net and fired the puck back up the slot for the goal. But it wouldn’t be long, when Mark Stone redirected a shot to the net past Jones to put Las Vegas on the board.
With only 12 seconds remaining in the period, Evander Kane’s slap shot down the slot put the Sharks up 4-1 going to the second intermission.
Kevin Labanc – File Photo by Jack Lima
In the third period, Las Vegas was able to get more shooting opportunities. The Sharks held them to ten shots in the first and second period, compared to 16 in the third. Only one of those shots was able to make it past Jones in the Sharks net. Kevin Labanc was in the box for a hooking call, when Stone scored the power play goal with 4:32 remaining. But that would be their last goal, the Sharks Tomas Hertl sealed the 5-2 win with an empty net goal.
The Sharks had a total of 33 shots for the night.
The game two is Friday, April 12 at the SAP Center, where the Golden Knights will look to even the series.
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