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Five Things: Golden Knights 4 - Sharks 1

October 3, 2019, 1:04 PM ET [11 Comments]
Jeff Paul
Vegas Golden Knights Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
Another wonderful, majestic season began Wednesday evening and the Vegas Golden Knights found themselves victorious over the San Jose Sharks for the second time this week. Both clubs played their opening night lineup’s in Sunday’s preseason finale, with the Golden Knights taking a 5-1 win. Wednesday night brought more of the same with Marc-Andre Fleury backstopping the Golden Knights to a 4-1 home win.

It’s no secret that these teams do not care for one another. They’re both at the top-end of the Pacific Division and have created quite the rivalry. The NHL scheduling three straight games between the two – with Friday’s game in San Jose – the stage was set for some craziness. Emotions are at an all-time high between these two teams, stemming from their first-round playoff series last season. Last night’s game was a great home-opener and here are five things that stood out from it.

Cody Glass Scored His First Goal!



Cody Glass was all kinds of hyped!


Approximately a week ago, it looked like Cody Glass was stuck on the outside looking in. With William Karlsson, Paul Stastny, and Cody Eakin filling top-nine center roles, there seemed to be no space for the 2017 first-rounder. That is, until Eakin went down with an injury during the Golden Knights’ sixth preseason tilt, against the Los Angeles Kings.

Glass was the first and best option available for the Golden Knights in Eakin’s absence. He showed good chemistry with Max Pacioretty in the preseason, so instead of taking Eakin’s spot, Glass was placed on Line Two with Pacioretty and Mark Stone. Eakin’s vacancy was filled by the elite two-way option in Stastny, playing between two shooters in Valentin Zykov and Brandon Pirri.

Glass obviously thrived in his top-six role. Just how long he will be able to do that remains up in the air with Eakin’s official designation being considered “day-to-day”. Once Eakin is healthy, the spot will go back to him. He makes far too much money to be a scratch or play out of position. Although the team experimented with Glass on the wing in the preseason, it would be shocking to see him play it upon Eakin’s return. Both Pirri and Zykov had strong camps and put in the time to be in the lineup. One of them will already be losing a spot when Alex Tuch comes back from his own week-to-week injury.

Despite his eventual AHL reassignment, Glass will be fun to watch as long as he’s in the lineup. Once in the AHL, he will be able to play top-line minutes, including power play time that he has enjoyed thus far with the Golden Knights.

Mark Stone is an Animal


Regardless of the end of the ice, Stone stands out. The 2018-19 Frank J. Selke Award runner-up is a nuisance in all three zones and made a number of big plays against the Sharks in this one. At times it seems like his stick is double the length of every other player’s and his closing speed is a big factor in his elite two-way style of play. Stone’s elite play was evident throughout the home-opener and he has quickly and rightfully become a fan favorite in Vegas.


Stone is a big figure in Vegas, where he will thrive (USA Today Sports)


Players who are constantly around the puck, will eventually get their points. Stone opened the scoring early, with a power play goal, just 3:46 into the season. His unassisted goal came when he jumped on a loose rebound in the left faceoff circle and fired it through Martin Jones. Providing a nice screen out front was the youngster Glass, who saw plenty of time on the power play. Just seconds before his goal, Stone ripped a similar wrist shot off the far-side post. When he got a second chance, he didn’t miss.

Having a player of Stone’s caliber for a full season will be a luxury for the Golden Knights. He is underappreciated in the grand scheme of things and should be seen as an elite, top-ten player in the NHL. A season in Vegas, with a good group of guys around him, will get him to that place. Stone is rock-solid and he will shine bright under the Vegas neon lights.

Marc-Andre Fleury’s Still Got It


There are very few goaltenders in the NHL that are as accustomed to winning as the man they call Flower. Fleury ranks second among all active goaltenders with 440 wins. Only Henrik Lundqvist (449 wins) has more wins to his name than Flower, with Roberto Luongo (489 wins) calling it a career this past summer. The Vegas Golden Knights should win substantially more games this season than the New York Rangers and it’s not crazy to think that Fleury can surpass King Henrik this season.

In Wednesday’s tilt against the Sharks, Fleury wasn’t overly busy, but he made big saves when he had to. He picked up the win, stopping 21 of the 22 shots he faced, with the lone goal coming from Marcus Sorensen. Sorensen is a good depth player for the Sharks, who received a nice one-touch pass, springing him down the left wing with speed. He was able to get behind Shea Theodore and Stastny, ripping a wrist shot far-side, bar-down. It was a nice shot from a guy who had two points against Vegas in the playoff series last season. He will be playing a big role for the Sharks, with Kevin Labanc promoted to Joe Pavelski’s shadow on the top line.


Flower was solid, stopping all but one Sharks shot (USA Today Sports)


Fleury loves to play and is a competitor. The Golden Knights need the soon-to-be 35-year-old healthy come playoff time and therefore Fleury should concede more starts to Malcolm Subban this season. When healthy, Flower is hard to beat and he can bail the team out of games, when their league-average defense corps has a bad game or two. The team’s management of Fleury is the story to watch this season and there is no question that he remains an elite goaltender in the NHL.

Zero Rookie Defensemen in the Lineup


Jimmy Schuldt and Nic Hague have seemingly made the Vegas Golden Knights out of camp. Even still, both young, dynamic two-way defenders spent the night in the press box, watching the home-opener. Instead of utilizing a young defenseman with upside, the Golden Knights’ coaching staff went with veterans and/or loyalty when making the lineup. Nick Holden and Deryk Engelland combined to form the third defense pair and if that doesn’t concern you, I don’t know what would.

Neither Engelland nor Holden are particularly exciting to watch. Engelland has never been lauded for his hockey play, as he was more of a fighter/protector in his Pittsburgh days and Holden has yet to impress since his arrival in Vegas last season. Both Schuldt and Hague have more upside than the two vets who were in the lineup, yet they watched from up above. On Tuesday morning, I spoke to Hague about the worst-case possibility of watching games from the press box and he was extremely diplomatic about the prospect.

”Obviously, I feel like I’d learn a little bit more if I was out there, kind of a live and learn kind of thing. You can make mistakes, learn from your mistakes, and be on the ice, feeling those things. But, there is something to be said…I have always been a visual learner, whether it’s video or watching a game, watching these guys do what they do.
-Nic Hague, Defenseman“



Losing Nate Schmidt at the end of the first period put the defense into more of a rotation and that rotation shows in the numbers. Engelland managed the third-worst Corsi For % on the team at 5-on-5 play - the lowest among defensemen, at just 40% - with 10 shots created versus 15 given up while on the ice. Holden fared a little better coming in at 55% (9-7). Corsi doesn’t mean everything but it is a good indicator of which team is getting the offense going while individual players are on the ice. If Schmidt can’t go on Friday due to knee-to-knee collision with Logan Couture, Schuldt and Hague should suit up, with Engelland getting a night off. The team had to play 20 games without Schmidt last season and had a losing record in them. As of now, he's week-to-week, Vegas' favorite timeline to give the media.

Danny Webster on Twitter

Lower body, week to week for Schmidt, per Gallant. #VegasBorn



San Jose Needs Evander Kane and Erik Karlsson


Say what you want about public enemy number one, Evander Kane, but he brings a number of valuable things to the Sharks’ game. He is a very skilled top-six forward who brings a physicality that teams love to have on a nightly basis. Against a team like Vegas, Kane is susceptible to losing his cool, which is why he missed Game One and will miss the rematch on Friday. Without Kane, the Sharks lacked that punch-back quality when the Golden Knights began to control the game.

Kane is the one guy on San Jose’s forward roster that can singlehandedly change the momentum in a game with a big hit and/or a big goal. He is a unique blend of top-end talent and grit. Players like Kane, if he can keep his cool, are at a premium in the NHL.


Erik Karlsson is a big loss for the Sharks (USA Today Sports)


Erik Karlsson needs no introduction. He is a Norris Trophy winner. He has some of the best vision in the entire NHL and is a phenomenal playmaker. Although he looks like a wacky Jack Sparrow, he can play some hockey. He, like Fleury, are two players that are hard to beat when they’re healthy. Last season Karlsson finished with 45 points in just 53 games played, his two lowest totals dating back to the 2012-13 season. He is healthy as of now, but was out of the lineup due to a unforeseen personal matter. Last season was a rough one for Karlsson and it’s hard to imagine the Sharks not winning the division last season, if they had Karlsson for the full season.

Once he returns to the lineup, he will give the team a much-needed boost. This Sharks team can look much different on November 21, the third of four games against one another. Pavelski and Gustav Nyquist’s departures will hurt and I expect a fourth-place finish for the Sharks, being passed up by Phil Kessel, Clayton Keller, and the Arizona Coyotes.

**
Vegas delivered the first blow and have a ton of momentum heading into Game Two at the SAP Center in San Jose on Friday evening. With Wednesday’s win and the preseason victory behind them, the boys in gold will look to get out to a 2-0-0 start, over their biggest rivals.

”It’s the same old thing, one game at a time. It’s two points, just trying to get to the playoffs. There’s a long way to go. We had a great start to the season, but every season is a little bit different. We know we have a great hockey team, if we play well and work every night then we’ll achieve our goal.
-Head Coach Gerard Gallant



Friday’s game is scheduled for a 7:30 start (Pacific) in San Jose. You can find the game back on AT&T Sportsnet or Fox Sports Radio. For more hockey talk, specifically the Pacific Division, check out my guest appearance on the Knight Cap Podcast with Lindsey Brown of CBS Sports Radio 1140 AM.

You can also check out my post-game recap, on The Vegas Hockey Buzz with Jeff Paul.

Be sure to follow me on the Twitter to stay current with your Vegas Golden Knights news and updates!!

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