The Vegas Golden Knights took home their third consecutive win in dramatic fashion, defeating the San Jose Sharks 5-4 in the shootout after giving up a two-goal lead with less than four minutes left in the third period. This win brings their record to 19-5-5 and extends their Pacific Division lead to six points ahead of the Vancouver Canucks.
The last time these two met was on Nov. 10 with the Golden Knights dominating the Sharks and winning 5-0. Although this was a very different Sharks team entering this contest, having gone 8-7-1 since starting the season 0-10-1. They’ve scored 26 goals in their last five games while managing to score just 22 in their first 11, and they’ve been very competitive against some strong teams as of late.
This recent scoring boost for the Sharks has been headlined by Mikael Granlund, who has put up 11 points in five games played in December, including two assists in this game. Granlund was injured for almost two weeks after getting hurt in their opening game of the season against the Golden Knights, and he has finally started to hit his stride. He plays top-six minutes, power play and penalty kill for the Sharks, and could be a trade target for many teams if his success continues.
Jiri Patera Picks Up Third Career NHL Win
The Sharks’ offense struck early in this game, with Mario Ferarro scoring his first of the season on their first shot of the game just 29 seconds into the period. This was not only the first goal from a Sharks defenseman this season, but it was also Ferraro’s first in 35 games.
This was not the ideal start for Jiri Patera, who was in net for the Golden Knights for the first time this season. He was called up from the American Hockey League (AHL) on Dec. 2 after Adin Hill was pulled from their 4-1 victory against the Canucks for precautionary reasons. Hill was later diagnosed with a lower-body injury, and after four consecutive starts for Logan Thompson, it was time for Patera to provide some much-needed relief against a much weaker opponent.
Related: Golden Knights’ Adin Hill Proves His Value With Lower-Body Injury
Patera was a sixth-round pick for the Golden Knights in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft and has only played three NHL games in his career. His last appearance was on March 19 against the Columbus Blue Jackets, late in the 2022-23 regular season, where he stopped 35 of the 37 shots he faced with the Golden Knights winning 7-2.
His 2023-24 AHL campaign hasn’t been nearly as inspiring, with a 3.17 goals-against average (GAA) and a .900 save percentage (SV%) through 14 games played with the Henderson Silver Knights. While Patera’s numbers may be inflated with the Silver Knights being one of the weaker teams in the AHL this season, it’s a little concerning to see that the Golden Knights don’t have as strong of a third goaltending option as they did with Jonathan Quick last season.
There were a few weak goals let in throughout this game but Patera still managed to make 35 saves and shut the door in the shootout, keeping his career NHL record at a perfect 3-0-0. It’s also worth noting that 39 shots are far too many for the Golden Knights to give up against a team like the Sharks, who are dead last in shots per game with an average of 25.8. While he would’ve liked a stronger finish to the third period, it was a decent outing for Patera despite the high score.
With Hill missing six consecutive games and there being no updates on his status beyond being designated as day-to-day, Thompson is likely going to have to carry a much larger load over the next few weeks until we hear anything further. While the Golden Knights have had positive outcomes with secondary goaltending options over the past two seasons, don’t be surprised if a stronger third option in net becomes the primary focus for their trade deadline endeavours.
Marchessault Headlines Golden Knights’ Offense
Things didn’t start clicking offensively for the Golden Knights until the second period. Jonathan Marchessault tied the game up less than five minutes into the second period on a two-on-one, which was the first of two goals he scored in this game, putting him ahead of Jack Eichel for the team lead with 14.
The Golden Knights are a team that has found most of their success as of late when they score early, and they’ve rarely been able to do well when they don’t. The last time they didn’t score in the first period and ended up winning was on Nov. 16 against the Montreal Canadiens, and it has only happened three times this whole season.
It’s worth noting that this has been a packed schedule for the Golden Knights with nine games in 16 days, making it even more impressive that they’ve been able to maintain such high scoring in this stretch. They’ve put up 26 goals in their last six games, scoring four or more in five of those contests.
After Chandler Stephenson scored the go-ahead goal to make it 2-1, Jack Eichel managed to extend his point streak to seven games with a beautiful no-look pass to Brayden McNabb, who finished it off with a beautiful shot over the shoulder of Kaapo Kähkönen.
After an uneventful overtime, Marchessault finished the game off with the shootout-winning goal to secure the win. After a four-game stretch without a point, he now has five goals in his last five games and is fourth on the team in points with 20 in 29 games. It’s been a slow start to the 2023-24 season for the former Conn Smythe winner, but things seem to be turning around when the Golden Knights have needed scoring the most.
Final Thoughts
It wasn’t pretty, but with this win the Golden Knights have gone 5-0-1 in their last six games and have averaged 4.3 goals per game. After a rough stretch of games with some horrible luck, things seem to be going in favor of the Golden Knights again.
This was the first of a four-game homestand for the Golden Knights, with their next three games coming against the Calgary Flames, Buffalo Sabres, and Ottawa Senators. Each of these teams currently has a negative record and are placed 24th or worse in the league standings, making this a great opportunity for the Golden Knights to continue to bank some points.
