FSM Essential Recap: Golden Knights vs Sharks Game 26

Monday’s game against the Sharks saw the VGK start the game a little slow but they continued to find their legs and build momentum throughout the game.

The first period played out to be pretty uneventful except for one key play which seemed to turn the momentum in the Knights favor for the rest of the game. While the Sharks did not generate much in terms of offensive prowess, they did generate some high danger chances from time to time. The first of which came from Timo Meier on a breakaway opportunity but Marc Andre Fleury was up to the task as he has been all season. It is almost getting predictable at this point in regards to Fleury coming up with huge saves at all the right moments.

Maybe I am alone here but I feel like I can call his huge save before they even happen at this point in the season.

With 11:33 left in the period, the VGK were awarded a powerplay after Evander Kane was called for tripping and they took full advantage of the opportunity. Just eight seconds into the powerplay Max Pacioretty scored after receiving a pass from captain Mark Stone and set the tone for the Knights for the rest of the game. From that point on it seemed like the Knights had the game in the bag even without amassing a huge lead in the goals department. Even though Vegas let up too many odd-man rushes for anyone to feel too comfortable, the combination of their stifling play combined with the brick wall that is Fleury led to a whole lot of confidence that was palpable in the Knights play on the ice.

The second period was much more lively as the Knights finally found their legs and continually piled on chances against Devan Dubnyk.

Just over two minutes into the period Alex Tuch had a partial breakaway and forced Dubnyk to make an outstanding save using the double pad stack and a poke check to keep the game at 1-0 Vegas. A little over three minutes later Fleury made a great stop on Evander Kane after a mad scramble in front of the San Jose net that somehow didn’t end up with a Knights goal. The rest of the period played out with the ice slanting in Vegas’ favor as they led the shot total of 12-4 with seven minutes remaining. The Vegas Golden Knights also held the Sharks to zero shots in the final 7:42 of the period in a show of dominance against their division rivals.

The third period played out in an unconventional way as Fleury showed he was up to the task of not letting the Sharks back into the game while the captain scored his sixth game-winning goal of the season.

Just 62 seconds into the third period Mark Stone capitalized on a great drop pass from Max Pacioretty, beating Devan Dubnyk to put his team up 2-0. A standout play from the final frame was Marc Andre Fleury robbing Evander Kane on a breakaway chance as he played very aggressively out of his crease and thwarted Kane’s chance with a last-second poke check. Evander was visibly frustrated as he took an interference penalty almost immediately after being denied and gave the Knights their third powerplay opportunity of the night.

While Vegas did not score, Timo Meier ended up pulling off a crazy deke to beat the Vegas netminder and cut the lead to 2-1. Yet the VGK penalty kill proved to be up to the task as they were able to kill off the penalty and finish the rest of the game without any blemishes. Mark Stone ended the night with his 6^th game-winning goal and only trails Auston Matthews in that category.

The Vegas Golden Knights will resume play Wednesday evening taking on the San Jose Sharks at T-Mobile Arena. The puck drop is set for 7:00 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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