FSM Essential Recap: Golden Knights vs Sharks - Game 20

The Vegas Golden Knights entered their twentieth game of the season with a goaltender in net that is not named Fleury, a rare sight so far this season.

Oscar Dansk got the nod for last night’s start playing his first game for the VGK in seventeen months. Since Robin Lehner’s injury, Marc Andre Fleury has gotten every start until tonight’s matchup against San Jose. Vegas was awarded a powerplay early but only registered one shot on net, but they were able to take the lead shortly after it had expired when Reilly Smith scored the opening goal with 14:12 remaining. It was a welcome sight to see as he had not scored in ten games. William Karlsson set him up by skating behind the net and found Smith on the far side of the crease. At 12:57, Chandler Stephenson added to the Knights lead after receiving a pass from Mark Stone, who took advantage of a loose puck in the Shark’s zone. The rest of the period saw both teams exchanged penalties, but neither team capitalized, and the first intermission started with the Knights leading 2-0.

After failing to score on their first period powerplays, the VGK did not stay dormant for long as they widened their lead to 3-0 in the opening minutes of the second.

At 17:03, Max Pacioretty scored a long-range goal beating Martin Jones to widen his team’s lead further. Martin Jones was pulled for Devin Dubnyk, and the game looked like it would play out the same way it had in the first twenty-three minutes, but the Sharks would prove not to roll over so easily. With 15:11 remaining, Marchessault was assessed a tripping penalty, and the Sharks went on the powerplay looking to draw blood. At 13:55, Brent Burns fired a shot on net that appeared to hit the crossbar and out, but about a minute later, the play was reviewed, and it was determined that the puck had crossed the goal line before bouncing out of the crease.

Just like that, VGK’s streak of twenty penalties killed in a row was ended, and the Sharks showed some signs of life. Vegas’ penalty kill rebounded, though, and killed off a penalty after Shea Theodore went to the box for tripping. The momentum from the PK unit was short-lived, however, as Matt Nieto from Long Beach, CA, scored off an odd-man rush to make the score 3-2. The rest of the period saw the VGK get two back-to-back powerplays, but they failed to convert on either one. The Knights still had the lead going into the third, but I would be lying if I said I did not expect them to have a more commanding lead by that point in the game.

Determined to not let the momentum swing completely in the Sharks favor, Ryan Reeves dropped the gloves and squared up with Curtis Gabriel off the opening faceoff of the third period.

It was a solid tilt that saw Reeves connect a solid right hook to Gabriel’s dome, setting the tempo for his team in the final frame. His effort was definitely received well as Alex Tuch scored just twenty-six seconds into the period; it was his sixth goal in the last six games. Tuch has been surging lately and has put down any early concerns after only scoring four goals in the Knights first fourteen games. The Sharks were not done, though, as Logan Couture scored with 13:37 remaining as his shot found its way through traffic before crossing the goal line. With around eight minutes left in the period, a scary moment ensued as Ryan Reeves went down to the ice and could not get up on his own. It appeared like Curtis Gabriel’s skate rose up and hit him in the ankle as he was falling down. Hopefully, it was not too serious.

The Sharks were awarded one more powerplay in the third, but the Knights penalty kill unit was able to fend it off, and it looked like Vegas was going to be able to close out the game without any further mishaps. That was not the case, though, as with just over a minute remaining, Oscar Dansk misplayed a bouncing puck allowing Kevin Lebanc to capitalize on the error and slip the puck past him to tie the game up. It began to look like Vegas might end the night with a historic defeat as they have only lost once in their entire history after having a three-goal lead. Max Pacioretty was having none of that, though, as he scored just a minute and twenty-five seconds into overtime to seal the deal for Vegas.

The Vegas Golden Knights will resume play Saturday evening taking on the San Jose Sharks again at SAP Center. The puck drop is set for 7:30 p.m. and will be on AT&T Sportsnet and FOX Sports Las Vegas 98.9/1340.

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-D.J. Wood– Franchise Sports Media

Follow D.J. on Twitter @DJwoody97

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