Sharks at Golden Knights
Two-time Norris Trophy winner Erik Karlsson finally is making his presence felt and looks to continue his offensive surge when the San Jose Sharks open a five-game road trip against the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday. Karlsson registered just seven points (all assists) in his first 18 games with the Sharks after being acquired from Ottawa in a preseason trade, but has notched eight over the last five contests after scoring one goal and setting up two others in Friday’s 4-0 win over Vancouver.
Defenseman Brent Burns leads the way with 24 points after adding an assist on Friday for San Jose, which has earned at least one point in five of its last six contests (4-1-1) to seize first place in the Pacific Division - a spot Vegas claimed last season. The Sharks saw their 2017-18 campaign end with a 4-2 series loss in the second round of the Western Conference playoffs against the expansion Golden Knights and have dropped seven of 10 overall meetings as the teams prepare to face off for the first time in 2018-19. Vegas is on the upswing with three wins in four games after Marc-Andre Fleury made 29 saves to post his third shutout in nine contests - a 2-0 triumph over Calgary on Friday. “The last two (games), there’s some urgency in our game, and I think we’re finding our game,” Golden Knights coach Gerard Gallant told reporters after the win. “We played a real good, solid hockey game.”
TV: 10 p.m. ET, NBCS California (San Jose), AT&T SportsNet-Rocky Mountain (Vegas)
ABOUT THE SHARKS (12-7-4): Veteran center Joe Thornton recorded two assists on Friday to move past Mario Lemieux for 11th place on the all-time list with 1,035 and climb within five of Marcel Dionne for 10th. Captain Joe Pavelski saw his five-game point streak come to an end Friday but has recorded six goals and four assists over his last six contests while falling into a tie for the team lead in tallies (13) when Timo Meier scored against Vancouver. Logan Couture is tied for second on the team in points with Meier at 22 after registering his eighth goal on Friday.
ABOUT THE GOLDEN KNIGHTS (11-12-1): Max Pacioretty has begun to become a factor offensively, recording four goals and three assists in his last six contests after managing two points in his first 14 games with the club. Alex Tuch also is on a roll with 10 points in his last nine games after scoring one goal and setting up another Friday against Calgary. Jonathan Marchessault, who leads Vegas with 19 points, and William Karlsson (17) were kept off the scoresheet Friday, but Reilly Smith notched an assist for his sixth point in four games.
OVERTIME
1. Vegas D Shea Theodore has registered four assists in his last five contests and is plus-3 in the last two.
2. The Sharks are 39-for-40 on the penalty kill over their last 17 games and rank second in the NHL at 89.7 percent overall.
3. The Golden Knights allow the fewest amount of shots per game in the league (26.9) while the Sharks are third in that category (28.3).