The Vegas Golden Knights and San Jose Sharks will be glad to see the calendar flip from February to March before they face off on Tuesday night in Las Vegas.
The Golden Knights, expected to be serious contenders for the Stanley Cup, hobble into the game clinging to a one-point lead over the surging Edmonton Oilers for third place in the Pacific Division. Should Edmonton pass them, the Golden Knights are also just one point clear of Dallas for the final Western Conference playoff spot, with the Stars owning a game in hand.
Vegas ended the month by losing five of its final six games, including a 3-2 loss to the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday when Vegas blew a 2-1 lead by allowing third-period goals by J.T. Compher and Nathan MacKinnon in a span of 26 seconds.
San Jose is coming off a 3-1 home victory against the Seattle Kraken on Sunday night but has won just two of its past 10 games while going 2-3-3 in February. The Sharks are seven points behind the Stars for the second wild-card spot in the West and eight behind Vegas.
The Golden Knights begin a stretch that will see them play 16 games in a 30-day span. Forward and captain Mark Stone, sidelined during the season with right leg and shoulder injuries, remains on long-term injured reserve with what the team says is a back problem that dates to last season. They are also without left wing Max Pacioretty (lower body) and center Mattias Janmark (upper body); head coach Peter DeBoer said after practice Monday that neither is close to returning.
There was some good news on the injury front for Vegas, however. Starting goalie Robin Lehner (upper body), who hasn’t played since getting shelled in a 6-0 loss at Calgary on Feb. 9, was activated off injured reserve and is expected to start on Tuesday. Defenseman Alec Martinez, out since taking a skate near his left eye on Nov. 11 against Minnesota, also practiced with a bandage under the eye but won’t play Tuesday.
How the Golden Knights handle March’s jam-packed schedule will go a long way to determining whether they are a serious Cup contender.
“We’ve handled (adversity) well in the past, and now we’re at it again,” defenseman Brayden McNabb said. “We’ve just got to get back to the basics. It’s frustrating, but you put your work boots on and make sure your compete (is) there and everything will fall into place.”
DeBoer called out his team’s effort after a 3-1 road loss to the Arizona Coyotes, the worst team in the West, on Friday. However, he had no complaints following the hard-fought loss to the Avalanche, who were held to just three third-period shots on goal but scored on two of them.
“We left it out there,” DeBoer said. “That’s exactly how we want to play going into the third with a lead. We did a lot of really good things, except win. That’s a fine line and when you’re playing one of the elite teams, you have to do everything right.”
“It’s kind of how it’s gone for us,” added forward Jonathan Marchessault, who scored his team-leading 21st goal to give Vegas a 2-1 lead. “We fall asleep for a couple of minutes and lose the game there.”
San Jose will be playing its sixth game in 10 nights but enters off its first victory in three tries against the expansion Kraken. Goalie James Reimer, making his 12th consecutive start, was outstanding while making 39 saves. Scott Reedy and Jonah Gadjovich each scored his first NHL goal after the teams scored nine seconds apart late in the first period.
“We found a way,” San Jose coach Bob Boughner said. “I don’t think it was our best performance by any means, but at this time of year, to get two points and find a way, that’s the biggest thing.”
–Field Level Media
