The Vegas Golden Knights (24-8-3) picked up a 6-3 victory against the San Jose Sharks (11-21-6) on Friday night at SAP Center.
HOW IT WENT DOWN
Noah Hanifin picked the top corner on a rush at 6:58 of the first period to give the Golden Knights a 1-0 advantage. Shakir Mukhamadullin netted his first NHL goal late in the frame and the teams went into the intermission level at 1-1. Mark Stone rebuilt the Vegas lead early in the second, but an answer from Will Smith just 2:26 later knotted the score at 2-2. With less than four minutes to play in the middle period, Tyler Toffoli scored on a bank shot from behind the net to give San Jose its first lead of the game. Early in the third period, Brayden McNabb dragged the puck around a Sharks defender and snapped home a shorthanded goal to tie the game. Just 23 seconds later, Jack Eichel converted on a shorthanded breakaway as the Golden Knights reclaimed the lead. Pavel Dorofeyev added an insurance goal midway through the frame and Brett Howden sealed the 6-3 victory with an empty-net goal.
TOP PERFORMERS
Jack Eichel: Eichel's two-point game (1G, 1A) brought his season total to a team-leading 47 (10G, 37A).
Brayden McNabb: McNabb notched a pair of points (1G, 1A) for his first multi-point effort of the season.
Mark Stone: Stone picked up a goal and an assist and has nine points (2G, 7A) in December.
Alex Pietrangelo: Pietrangelo notched three assists in the win. He has 17 points (2G, 15A) against the Sharks since joining the Golden Knights in the 2020-21 season.
Victor Olofsson: Olofsson had two assists for his fourth multi-point game of the year.
Brett Howden: Howden's two-point game (1G, 1A) brought him to 18 points on the season (14G, 4A).
STATS OF THE KNIGHT
Mark Stone scored his 97th goal as a Golden Knight and is tied for fourth in franchise history in goals.
McNabb and Eichel scored 23 seconds apart marking the third-fastest consecutive goals this season. Both goals came shorthanded to mark the fourth time Vegas has scored two shorthanded goals in one game.
LOOKING AHEAD
Vegas will host the Calgary Flames on Sunday at 5 p.m. at T-Mobile Arena. Catch the Golden Knights on Vegas 34, KnightTime+, FOX Sports Las Vegas 98.9/1340 and Deportes Vegas 1460.
