As a San Jose Sharks fan, if you were already having a bad day – maybe you forgot your dose of SSRIs, were anxious about the upcoming holidays, or maybe you simply felt woozy about this game – it’s likely that the first period at T-Mobile Arena only exacerbated your symptoms. Each team rode a two-game losing streak heading into the game, with this being the final night for both before the NHL’s three-day break, came in today with plenty of reason for motivation. San Jose completely fell flat, however, in an incredibly ugly showcase of team defense that victimized both Yaroslav Askarov and Alex Nedeljkovic. Perhaps this holiday break comes at the right time for the Sharks, who have now dropped three in a row and looked like they could use a mental reset from the onset of this game.

The phrase “fortune favors the bold” could aptly describe the Vegas Golden Knights’ fortunes in many parts of last night’s drumming over the San Jose Sharks. That phrase, however, doesn’t give depth to the meaning of “bold” when it comes to the Golden Knights. Adorned in their bright gold, with a starting goalie freshly reinstated into the NHL after missing over a calendar year for a sexual misconduct trial, and scoring a touchdown on the Sharks, the Golden Knights’ brand of “bold” ultimately comes off as more obnoxious than some sort of inspiring courage or individualism.

And as much as I wish I could just leave it at the Golden Knights’ undoubted obnoxiousness, I have to admit that they were the superior team from the start, and I am just a bitter fan. Coach Bruce Cassidy for Las Vegas had his team prepared, despite not having Jack Eichel, William Karlsson, Shea Theodore, nor Adin Hill. San Jose, on the other hand, was about as lackluster defensively as you could imagine to start the game. That skill, effort, and preparation, in combination with the evident fortune Vegas received tonight (three posts to bail out Carter Hart; a Shakir Mukhamadullin stick tap that somehow shatters a stick, leading to a power play goal against; etc.), was all too overwhelming for San Jose to overcome. As much as it is incredibly frustrating to watch, the Sharks must be more mentally focused and prepared for opponents as hard-working and talented as the Golden Knights.

Defense, shmefense

It will be easy to watch last night’s highlights and harp on a blueline turnover or the many singular defensive miscues from last night’s lo-light reel, but that isn’t what ultimately sunk the Sharks last night. It was a team-wide, systemic misadventure. San Jose did not track Vegas’ rush attack, and did not work well as a five-man unit when the play turned around the other way.

In multiple instances, two skaters would chase the puck to leave a Golden Knight open net front. For other goals against, the Sharks’ defense would allow two or more passes by them on one play. The combination of Sam Dickinson and Nick Leddy looked particularly vulnerable last night, but nobody else really shined, either. The forwards inefficiently back-checked, leaving openings for rebounds or slot passes that were slam dunks for the Knights. It truly was a showcase of mishaps in teal.

Where to next

“I’m not sure what you could learn from this game, because there were very few positives from tonight.” – Drew Remenda, on last night’s NBCSN TV broadcast.

Of course, I’m writing from a fan’s perspective. There is a cathartic expression in writing, reading, and talking angrily about a game like this. But for the players and staff themselves, it might be best to completely forget about this game and focus on getting a good mental and physical reset over the next three days. This deep into the season, the players should know where they went wrong on each goal, and it might not be useful for the coaching staff to beat them over the head with what’s obvious. Burn the tape, go home, spend time with your loved ones, and come back on Saturday ready to climb back up the standings.

Celebrini’s response

After the first period embarrassment, the question was how San Jose would respond, and who would lead them. It should come as no surprise that 19-year-old phenom Macklin Celebrini was the main Shark to provide a response. Breaking the ice in the second period after simplifying the game, Celebrini put the Sharks on the board. The Sharks got the puck put deep on a rim, forced a turnover, Toffoli made a great pass fast to the middle of the ice, and Celebrini took a remarkable shot to finish it off.

If we’re looking for a silver lining, it’s that this kid pushes back no matter what, and will drag this team kicking and screaming to respectability (if not tonight, then eventually).

Highlight

Which leads us to our highlight, Celebrini’s goal to momentarily stop the bleeding:

Scoring summary San Jose Sharks at Vegas Golden Knights Dec. 23, 2025

First period
1:46 VGK Brett Howden from Braeden Bowman and Reilly Smith
9:07 VGK Mitch Marner from Noah Hanifin and Pavel Dorofeyev
11:37 VGK Colton Sissons from Keegan Kolesar and Brandon Saad
14:57 VGK Tomáš Hertl from Pavel Dorofeyev
18:34 VGK Mark Stone from Ivan Barbashev and Kaeden Korczak

Second period
6:49 SJS Macklin Celebrini from Tyler Toffoli
18:50 VGK Reilly Smith from Kaeden Korczak and Braedan Bowman

Third period
5:22 VGK Mitch Marner from Mark Stone and Ivan Barbashev
8:04 SJS Collin Graf from Tyler Toffoli and Alexander Wennberg