Mitch Marner scored twice as the Vegas Golden Knights erupted for five goals in the opening period, matching a franchise record and rolling past the San Jose Sharks 7–2 on Tuesday night.
Vegas got goals from Reilly Smith, Mark Stone, Brett Howden, Colton Sissons, and Tomas Hertl to produce its highest-scoring game of the season. Smith and Stone each added an assist, while Pavel Dorofeyev, Kaedan Korczak, Braeden Bowman, and Ivan Barbashev all finished with two assists. Carter Hart made 21 saves as the Golden Knights snapped a three-game slide.
San Jose counters came from Macklin Celebrini and Colin Graf, with Tyler Toffoli picking up two assists. Sharks goalie Yaroslav Askarov was chased after surrendering four goals on 16 shots in less than 15 minutes. Alex Nedeljkovic stopped seven shots in relief.
The Golden Knights’ explosive start tied their franchise mark for goals in a single period, a feat previously achieved four times. Vegas also set a new team record with 13 players recording a point in the first period alone.
Howden opened the scoring just 1:46 into the game on a 2-on-1 rush. Marner followed with a power-play goal midway through the period when his cross-ice feed deflected off a defender and slipped past Askarov. Sissons added another off an odd-man rush, and Hertl made it 4-0 with a sharp shot from the right circle, ending Askarov’s night. Stone capped the barrage late in the period with a backhand finish to make it 5-0.
Celebrini briefly got San Jose on the board in the second period with his 19th goal of the season, but Smith responded late in the frame to restore a five-goal cushion. Marner’s second of the night early in the third sealed the lopsided win.
Up Next
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Sharks: Visit Vancouver on Saturday.
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Golden Knights: Host Colorado on Saturday.