Hill makes 20 saves, Golden Knights blank Sharks

LAS VEGAS -- Adin Hill made 20 saves, and Alex Pietrangelo had a goal and two assists for the Vegas Golden Knights in a 5-0 victory against the San Jose Sharks at T-Mobile Arena on Friday.

The shutout was Hill’s second in his past three starts. He made 41 saves in a 7-0 win against the Colorado Avalanche on Nov. 4.

“Any game you win 5-0 and give up 20 shots, it’s a good game by your team,” Hill said. “It’s a big win. All two points count the same.”

Alec Martinez scored twice, and William Karlsson had a goal and an assist for the Golden Knights (12-2-1), who lost their previous two games. Michael Amadio had two assists.

“Good teams recognize when they're not doing things the way that they should be,” Martinez said. “That was obviously reflected in some of the outcomes of the games. So proud of the guys and how they rebounded and bounced back, and got back into the win column.”

Kaapo Kahkonen made 34 saves for the Sharks (2-11-1), who were coming off their first two wins of the season.

“They were better; we were not good enough,” San Jose forward Mikael Granlund said. “They were winning way more puck battles, obviously put us on defense quite a bit, so we got to be better.”

Pietrangelo gave Vegas a 1-0 lead 1:00 into the first period with his first goal of the season, scoring on a wraparound.

“Right from the get-go, we looked flat for sure,” Sharks coach David Quinn said. “Getting down again 2-0 certainly didn't help our cause. We were just half a step behind all night long.

“We defended way too much and weren't able to end plays. We're chasing the game really from the drop of the puck.”

Martinez made it 2-0 at 11:19 of the first, one-timing Amadio’s pass from the point.

“Will [Carrier] screened the goalie and ‘Marty’ found a way to get it in,” Amadio said.

Karlsson extended it to 3-0 at 2:24 of the third period with a short-handed goal. Martinez pushed it to 4-0 at 4:40 with his second goal after scoring from the left circle.

“It was a good play,” Martinez said. “‘Petro’ did a really good job of [reeling] that guy in and giving me more time and space. I was more surprised at how much time I had. So, I looked backside, and there wasn't really anyone there, so I figured I'd take the shot, which went in.”

Brett Howden scored off a Jonas Rondbjerg rebound, lifting the puck over an outstretched Kahkonen at 9:34 for the 5-0 final.

“A lot of offense coming from guys who haven’t had as much going their way this year,” Golden Knights coach Bruce Cassidy said. “That’s usually a good sign.”

Vegas defenseman Zach Whitecloud made his season debut after missing the first 14 games because of an upper-body injury sustained during the preseason. He blocked two shots and had one hit in 18:04 of ice time.

“I liked his game,” Cassidy said. “He's involved, he's in the game. It wasn't a high-stress game in terms of puck retrievals. … I saw him after, he looked great. Each one he should get a little better because he is playing a little bit of catch-up.”

NOTES: Sharks forward Anthony Duclair was scratched due to an illness. His status for their game at the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday is unknown. … Karlsson’s short-handed goal was Vegas’ third of the season, tied for fourth in the NHL with the New York Islanders. … The Golden Knights scored five goals in a home game for the 66th time since their inaugural season (2017-18). They are 65-0-1 in those games.