Scoring the first goal has not been trouble for the Vegas Golden Knights as of late. Finishing games strong and putting opponents away when the opportunities presented themselves has been difficult. The Golden Knights scored first in each of their games last week and failed to get a point.
A matinee against the San Jose Sharks can fix many problems that a team is going through.
The Golden Knights scored three, first-period goals against the last team in the Pacific Division. Zach Whitecloud hit Michael Amadio with a stretch pass from behind the Golden Knights’ goal. Amadio converted on his breakaway opportunity just 2:28 into the game.
It took the Golden Knights just two minutes to get their second goal. William Karlsson attempted a shot from the slot that hit a Sharks defenseman who was next to the post. Karlsson tapped in the loose puck to make it 2-0 Golden Knights.
Mason Morelli made his NHL debut with the Golden Knights and was fortunate to score a goal. Morelli won an offensive zone faceoff during a Golden Knight’s powerplay. Alex Pietrangelo found Morelli in the slot, all Morelli had to do was deflect the puck on net for his first career goal in the NHL. The Golden Knights enjoyed a 3-0 lead heading to the first intermission.
This was the exact start the Golden Knights needed.
The second period did not have the same excitement as the first period, but the Golden Knights were able to extend their lead. Keegan Kolesar scored off a nice centering pass from Alec Martinez. Morelli got the secondary assist for his second point in his NHL debut.
The Golden Knights took a comfortable 4-0 lead into the second intermission.
The third period did not feature any scoring, which was just fine for the Golden Knights.
A win against the Sharks was important, but doing so in a convincing fashion was of greater importance. The final score from the SAP Center at San Jose was 4-0, in favor of the Golden Knights.
The Golden Knights improved to 32-17-6 (70 points) on the season and gained two points on the Vancouver Canucks (80 points), who lost 10-7 to the Minnesota Wild on Monday.
This was Logan Thompson’s first shutout of the season.
The Golden Knights face the Nashville Predators in the second leg of the back-to-back on Tuesday night in T-Mobile Arena in Vegas.
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