Vegas clinch Pacific with win over Sharks

In Las Vegas Saturday night, the Golden Knights clinched the Pacific Division title with a 3-2 win over the San Jose Sharks.

William Karlsson scored the game-winner on a nasty move on a shorthanded breakaway in the third period.

“It’s great. It’s a great feeling to win our division,” Vegas head coach Gerard Gallant said. “Obviously, nobody had those expectations at the beginning of the season, but as we know, our team grew on everybody. We’ve worked hard all season long, but we all know what the real accomplishment is supposed to be. It’s all about the playoffs.”

Shea Theodore and Oscar Lindberg added goals for the Knights who now have home ice advantage for two rounds.

Marc-Andre Fleury made 29 saves to pick up the win.

“It definitely gives them momentum. You can see when the building’s rocking and they’re feeding off it, but that’s going to be every building in the playoffs. You’ve got to find ways to stop that momentum,” the Sharks’ Chris Tierney said after the loss.

Joe Pavelski and Marc-Edouard Vlasic picked up the Sharks’ goals.

“The good news is we’ve set ourselves up to finish this season off with three home games and an opportunity to clinch home-ice advantage, which is something that’s been a goal of ours from Day One,” Sharks head coach Peter DeBoer said. “So, we’ll sweep this one under the rug and get ready for the next one.”

[WATCH: All Sharks vs. Golden Knights highlights]

Martin Jones. took the loss on  saves.

“Just not a good enough game to win,” DeBoer said. “If you’re going to come in here and win at this rink this time of year, you’re going to have to bring your ‘A-plus’ game, and I thought we played a ‘B’ game. We probably got what we deserved.”