The San Jose Sharks did just enough to beat the Philadelphia Flyers and Edmonton Oilers earlier this week to pick up their first two victories of the season.
But let’s be honest: the inconsistent Oilers and Flyers are not the Vegas Golden Knights, and the reigning Stanley Cup champions made that clear on Friday night and handed the Sharks a 5-0 loss at T-Mobile Arena.
The Sharks allowed goals to Alex Pietrangelo and Alec Martinez in the first 11:19 of the first period and never recovered as they fell to 0-6-0 on the road this season.
On both goals, the Sharks (2-11-1) didn’t do a good enough job of gapping up in the neutral zone, allowing the Golden Knights (12-2-1) to enter the offensive zone with too much speed.
“Right from the get-go we looked flat for sure,” Sharks coach David Quinn said. “We were just half a step behind all night long, we defended way too much and weren’t able to end plays and were just for chasing the game really from the drop of the puck.”
Sharks goalie Kaapo Kahkonen looked shaky on the Pietrangelo goal just 1:00 into the first, as he got caught out of position on the left side of his net, allowing Pietrangelo to score his first of the season on a wraparound shot.
Kahkonen mostly settled down after that — at least for the opening two periods when stopped 26 of 28 shots in what was his first start since Nov. 2. That night, he allowed six goals on 19 shots in what turned into a 10-1 loss to the Vancouver Canucks.
Kahkonen finished with 34 saves.
The Sharks had a chance to cut the Golden Knights’ lead to one after Brayden McNabb took a tripping penalty 1:09 into the third period. Instead, Vegas, put the game away with a shorthanded goal, as Jack Eichel assisted on William Karlsson’s goal at the 2:24 mark, giving the Golden Knights a 3-0 lead.
Martinez added a second goal at the 4:40 mark, beating Kahkonen over his right shoulder with a wrist shot. Brett Howden wrapped up the scoring for Vegas with a goal at the 9:34 mark of the third.
The Sharks finished with 20 shots on net and went 0-for-3 on the power play as they were shut out for the third time this season. They’ve scored two goals or less in 12 of their 14 games.
The Sharks now travel to play the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday.
“There’s a lot that goes into it,” Sharks center Mikael Granlund said about creating more chances. “For me it’s about battles, killing some plays defensively or making them turn the puck over.”
San Jose’s best scoring opportunities came in the first two periods, as Tomas Hertl hit the post on a first-period shot and Luke Kunin had a second-period shot from right beside the net go off the outstretched leg of Adin Hill and off the side of the net.
Hill picked up his seventh career shutout and improved to 7-2-0 in his career against the Sharks.
As has been the case throughout the season, the Sharks on Friday were badly outshot and out-chanced, managing just 12 shots in the first two periods.
The Sharks were playing their third game in four nights but Granlund didn’t want to use that as a excuse.
“It’s the NHL. We all have to play back-to-back games,” Granlund said. “It’s not an excuse. We just have to be better.”
The Sharks were outshot 41-18 on Thursday, but took advantage of the opportunities they had and managed a 3-2 win over Connor McDavid and the Oilers. San Jose began the week with a 2-1 win over Philadelphia, which snapped a season-opening 11-game losing streak.
NOTE: Forward Anthony Duclair was a late scratch from Friday’s game with an illness. Sharks coach David Quinn said he’ll know more about Duclair’s availability for Sunday’s game on Saturday. Oskar Lindblom, a recent callup from the Barracuda, took Duclair’s roster spot and had 11:01 of ice time.
