Golden Knights Dominate Sharks in 7–2 Rout

Entering Tuesday night’s matchup with the San Jose Sharks, the Vegas Golden Knights had dropped three straight and hadn’t won in 10 days.

That changed in emphatic fashion with a 7–2 blowout, as Vegas erupted offensively and ran away from a San Jose team that never found its footing defensively.

The NHL holiday break is now officially underway, with the Golden Knights off until Dec. 27, when they return to action against the Colorado Avalanche. Here’s where things stand heading into the pause.

Golden Knights Take Down Sharks 7-2

The Golden Knights set the tone almost immediately at T-Mobile Arena on Tuesday night, with Brett Howden opening the scoring just minutes in for his sixth goal of the season. From there, Vegas poured it on.

Five goals came in the first period alone, with Mitch Marner, Colton Sissons, Tomáš Hertl and Mark Stone all finding the back of the net in a relentless opening 20 minutes.

Mitch Marner Vegas Golden Knights — Mitch Marner, Vegas Golden Knights (Sergei Belski-Imagn Images)

In total, 13 Golden Knights recorded at least one point in the first period — the most in franchise history, surpassing the previous mark of 11.

San Jose eventually responded, getting on the board with Macklin Celebrini’s 19th goal of the season, and Collin Graf added another later on. But the damage had already been done, as Vegas’ explosive first period proved far too much for the Sharks to overcome.

The Sharks will hit the holiday break on the outside looking in, two points shy of the last wild card spot as the Golden Knights retake first place in the Pacific Division.