The Sharks are taking on the Golden Knights in their 5th of 6 preseason games tonight. They are currently 1-3 in the pre-season, with their lone win coming against the Knights. I will be providing period-by-period analysis of the game.
The Sharks are using a mostly non-NHL roster tonight, featuring players likely ticketed for the Barracuda after the pre-season. Considering this is the front end of a back-to-back, this is likely the final chance for many of these players to prove they deserve a spot on the NHL roster. Players like Musty, Lund, and Cardwell will need to have a really impressive game to unseat one of the Sharks ' waiver-eligible forwards on the opening night roster.
The full lineup can be seen here.
Period 1
Sharks strike early, Cardwell shoots a pinpoint wrister upstairs past Hill from distance on the first shot of the Game, excellent start for the Sharks.
Deserved goal for Cardwell, who has had an excellent camp so far, fighting for a spot on the team.
Nedeljkovic makes a couple nice saves, had a shutout in his debut earlier in the pre-season.
Dickinson had a really nice shift, making plays at both ends of the ice. He will need to find more consistency with his play in every facet of the game, but the flashes are there, and he has more or less earned the 9-game trial with the Sharks.
Nedeljkovic flashes the leather on a Mitch Marner breakaway. This is the Sharks' first time playing Vegas with Marner in the lineup.
Ostapchuck and Lauzon fight after a hit on Misa. Ostapchuck lost his balance early, so it's not much of a scrap, but it's good to see him stand up for the 18-year-old top prospect.
Former Shark Tomas Hertl is going to the box for goalie interference, the Sharks are going to the power play for the first time tonight.
Sharks fail to get much going on the powerplay, need to move the puck quicker on the man advantage. After the penalty expires, the Sharks are headed to the box for cross-checking, so now they will need to go on the kill.
Bowers takes a tripping penalty in the neutral zone, Sharks will need to kill a short 5 on 3.
Sharks exit the first period with a 1-goal lead thanks to Ethan Cardwell. It was a physical period with both teams getting opportunities, but the play favored the Knights. A strong period by Nedeljkovic kept it 1-0.
Period 2
Nedelkjovic has been outstanding tonight, he has made multiple saves on deflections and looks calm in the net. On the offensive end, the Sharks are struggling to string together passes and need to be more efficient in moving the puck in the offensive zone.
Vegas has started to tilt the ice in the 2nd, Sharks need to get their feet under them in this period, if they want to keep their lead.
Misa chases down and wins a puck battle against Tomas Hertl, not bad for the 18-year-old against a strong veteran in Hertl.
Will Smith takes a hooking penalty, Sharks going on the kill.
Nedeljkovic flashes the leather for a great save, has been the difference maker tonight. Sharks are able to kill the penalty.
Vegas takes their 2nd goalie interference of the night; the Sharks are going to the power play. They haven't recorded a shot in 8 minutes, so it's a good chance to get some offense going.
Afanseyev puts it in the back of the net for his first of the night, an excellent cross-crease pass from Regenda, and a nice keep-in by Cagnoni earlier on the shift led to the goal. 2-0 Sharks!
The Sharks are going right back to the power play. Despite their struggles, they have a chance to break this game open.
Sharks fail to score on the powerplay but exit the period with a 2-0 lead. Given how much they were in their own zone this period, this is an extremely positive outcome. They did, however, take a roughing penalty as the horn expired and will be on the PK to start the 3rd.
Period 3
After a broken Sharks stick, Vegas puts on the pressure for an extended period of time, but the Sharks hold firm and eventually get the clear to kill the Vegas power play.
After some back and forth, the Sharks take another penalty. Tempers blow over after the whistle, Sharks take a roughing penalty, but Vegas takes two roughing penalties to even things out, we have 5 on 5 hockey.
Regenda makes a nice retrieval off his own dump in and finds Cardwell, who wires home another wrister past Hill. 3-0 Sharks!
Both Cardwell and Regenda have made big impressions tonight, and at the very least should be early call-up options for the Sharks.
Vegas gets one back as Holtz fires home a wrister from the point past Nedeljkovic. That is the first goal Nedeljkovic has allowed in 5 periods in teal this preseason. 3-1 Sharks.
Nedeljkovic makes a nice stop on Eichal breaking to the net. Dellandrea, with a nice backcheck, made it difficult for Eichal. Sharks keep the lead at 2!
Liljegren had Musty wide open for a tap-in, but puts too much on the pass, and Musty can’t catch it. Missed opportunity to ice the game.
Nedeljkovic makes another breakaway save against Riley Smith. Despite letting one in, he continues to make key saves down the stretch.
Cardwell has a golden opportunity for the hat trick, but is denied by the pad. Ostapchuck picks up the loose change and is absolutely robbed by Hill, who flashes the leather for a desperation save.
Cardwell completes the hat trick with the empty netter to ice the game, 4-1 for the Sharks!
Post Game
The Sharks get the 4-1 win over the Vegas Golden Knights, an impressive feat given the fact that Vegas was icing their likely Opening Night roster, while the Sharks were resting most of their key players and veterans. It was not the prettiest game in the world, but they scored timely goals and didn't give up that many grade-A looks. Overall, an impressive win for the Sharks in a game that had no business being in on paper.
Ethan Cardwell and Pavol Regenda stole the show on offense, both players registered 4 points, with Cardwell getting a hat trick and Regenda getting four assists, and was in on all 4 sharks goals tonight. Both have had strong camps this season, and while Regenda would be a long shot to crack the lineup even with today's performance, with seven shots tonight and multiple impressive games, Cardwell may have stamped his ticket on the Sharks roster. He is competing with Dellandrea and Grundstrom for what will likely be the 13th forward spot. While they could hold 14 forwards, I expect them to carry 8 defenseman at least to start the year, with Sam Dickinson likely getting his 9 games to start the season.
In net, Nedeljkovic put together a strong performance, letting in just 1 goal on 30 shots tonight. After a shutout in his first game of pre-season, he is likely the leading candidate to start opening night. While the Sharks are likely to do an even split regardless, he has the edge over Askarov in camp to this point.
Sharks will be back in action tomorrow for their final pre-season game against the Utah Mammoth.