The Vegas Golden Knights entered Friday’s game against the San Jose Sharks having won three of their last four preseason games. They didn’t continue that trend tonight. Instead, they came out flat, overpassed, and struggled to finish en route to a 4-1 loss.

The Sharks jumped out to an early lead and broke the ice 1:18 into the first period. In San Jose’s zone, Pavol Regenda got a stick on Mitch Marner’s pass; Jeremy Lauzon pinched but whiffed on his shot. Regenda sent a pass to Ethan Cardwell, who entered the zone, pulled up, and fired a shot through Kaedan Korczak that beat Adin Hill far side.

Although they had countless chances, the Golden Knights never managed to get into the game. They had two power play opportunities in the first period, including an abbreviated 5-on-3. They failed to convert– probably because everyone refused to shoot the puck.

The Sharks doubled their lead at 16:21 in the second period. Mitch Marner tried to clear the zone, but Luca Cagnoni held the puck at the line and sent the puck back to Ethan Cardwell, who threaded a cross-ice pass to Pavol Regenda. Regenda drove down to the dot, avoided Shea Theodore’s stick, and fooled Adin Hill with a shot-pass. Alone in the opposite circle, Egor Afanasyev slammed the puck into the empty net.

The Sharks added to their lead 6:48 into the third period. Pavol Regenda broke the puck out, drove through center ice, and dumped it into the Golden Knights’ zone. He won the race to the puck, pivoted, and set up Ethan Cardwell for a one-timer that beat Adin Hill through traffic.

The Golden Knights finally broke through and responded 23 seconds later. Brandon Saad found Kaedan Korczak, who set up Alexander Holtz for a one-timer from the high slot.

Despite outshooting the Sharks 13-5 in the third period, the Golden Knights didn’t have another goal in them. They pulled Adin Hill for the extra attacker, but couldn’t establish the zone. Jack Eichel lost a puck battle to Ethan Cardwell, who sent it ahead to Pavol Regenda. Mark Stone tied  Regenda’s stick up, but Cardwell corralled the puck and deposited it into the empty net to complete the hat trick.

Colton Sissons said it best postgame: “Enough’s enough on the preseason.”

Three stars of the game: Ethan Cardwell, Pavol Regenda, Alexander Holtz

7 Golden Knights Observations

1. Don’t put much stock, if any, into this game. If it looked like the Sharks were trying much harder than the Golden Knights, that’s because they were. The Sharks iced a roster of players fighting for NHL jobs. The Golden Knights, on the other hand, know their Opening Night roster. Most of them weren’t terribly motivated.

2. Jeremy Lauzon is a freight train. He’s a heavy hitter, and he’s pretty fast, so he comes out of nowhere. He dropped the gloves with Zack Ostapchuk 10 minutes into his preseason debut, although the latter fell quickly, so it didn’t go anywhere. Lauzon clearly isn’t concerned with getting hurt— he recorded four hits in his first game back from injury. His hit on Cam Lund, however, was pretty bush league. 

3. That being said, tonight was the first game Lauzon has played since December 31st, 2024, and it showed. He looked rough with the puck. He made bad pinches all night, leading to odd-man rushes, most notably, the Sharks’ first goal. 

4. Zach Whitecloud probably won’t look back fondly on tonight’s game. He coughed the puck up twice on the same shift in the first period. Whitecloud took a stick to the face later in the first period; in the third period, Carl Grundstrom boarded him. However, he wasn’t on the ice for a goal against.

5. On one hand, it’s worrisome that the power play refuses to shoot the puck. On the other hand, no one really seemed like they were trying tonight. I’m interested to see how the top unit looks on Opening Night. The alarm bells aren’t yet ringing, but the bell-ringer is in the tower. 

6. After an impressive preseason, Alexander Holtz finally broke through and scored. He’s got a very nice shot, but that’s never been the issue. For the past two weeks, he’s been trying to show Cassidy & Co. that there’s more to him than flashes of offensive brilliance. I imagine the two penalties he drew tonight helped his case.

7. Again, don’t put much stock into tonight’s game. The players are ready for the real thing. As Bruce Cassidy pointed out postgame, there’s a bright silver lining: no one got hurt.

“Did you stay healthy? That’s important. We accomplished that.”