The Vegas Golden Knights stormed back for a dramatic 4–3 overtime win against the San Jose Sharks on Thursday night, capitalizing on two crucial late-game mistakes by goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic.
San Jose appeared on the verge of earning its first season-opening victory in five years after killing a late penalty while holding a one-goal lead. But a string of missed opportunities and unfortunate breaks turned what seemed like a sure win into heartbreak.
With under two minutes left, Sharks forward William Eklund had a chance to seal the game with an empty-net goal but sent his shot just wide, and Vegas defenseman Shea Theodore stopped his follow-up wraparound.
Moments later, the Golden Knights countered. Jack Eichel sent a seemingly harmless puck toward the net, only to take an odd bounce and slip past Nedeljkovic, tying the game at 3–3 with 1:34 remaining.
In overtime, disaster struck again for the Sharks. Nedeljkovic skated far out to play a loose puck, but it ricocheted directly to Reilly Smith, who buried it into the open net for the game-winner.
San Jose, which lost 15 games last season when leading in the third period, began its new campaign in eerily familiar fashion — letting another one slip away.
Pavel Dorofeyev netted his fourth goal of the young season for Vegas, while Brett Howden also scored. Goaltender Akira Schmid stopped 20 shots, helping the Golden Knights rebound from a shootout loss to Los Angeles the previous night.
Philipp Kurashev, Alexander Wennberg, and Jeff Skinner tallied goals for the Sharks, while Nedeljkovic finished with 27 saves in the defeat.
Up Next:
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Golden Knights: at Seattle, Saturday night
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Sharks: vs. Anaheim, Saturday night
