Brett Howden scored twice, while Mark Stone tallied a goal and two assists as the Vegas Golden Knights overpowered the San Jose Sharks 7-3 on Saturday night, extending San Jose’s winless streak to nine games.
William Karlsson made a strong return for Vegas, scoring a goal and an assist after missing the first eight games due to injury. Tanner Pearson, Jack Eichel, and Pavel Dorofeyev also scored for the Golden Knights, and goaltender Ilya Samsonov stopped 24 shots.
Mikael Granlund, Nico Sturm, and Luke Kunin scored for San Jose, while Vitek Vanecek made 35 saves in a tough night for the Sharks.
Takeaways
- Sharks: San Jose made history as the first team to start consecutive seasons winless through nine games. According to Stathead, only 10 teams in NHL history have begun a season winless through 10 games, a feat the Sharks reached last year when they didn’t secure a win until their 12th game.
- Golden Knights: Tomas Hertl faced the Sharks for the first time since his trade last March, stepping in for an opening faceoff after 11 seasons with San Jose. Hertl contributed two assists, extending his current point streak to three games (3 goals, 4 assists).
Key Moment
After Granlund brought San Jose within two, cutting Vegas’s lead to 3-1 in the second period, Vanecek’s misstep gave Vegas an opening. Racing out to retrieve the puck, Karlsson beat Vanecek, who skated around and buried it, restoring Vegas’s three-goal cushion.
Key Stat
With his second goal, Howden became the 13th Golden Knights player this season to record a multi-point game, while Karlsson, with his goal, became the 12th player on the team to achieve the feat.
Up Next
The Golden Knights will host Calgary on Monday, while the Sharks travel to face Utah.