.png)
The Vegas Golden Knights dropped their second straight game as they lost to the San Jose Sharks, 5-2, Tuesday, Nov. 15.
The second loss in a row drops the team to 13-4-0 on the year.
The Knights still hold a five-point lead in the Pacific division standings and are tied with the New Jersey Devils for the second most points in the league. New Jersey is currently on a 10-game winning streak which is the longest in the NHL this season.
“There’s no excuse for us losing these past two games,” forward Jonathan Marchessault said. “We were right there and didn’t take over.”
The VGK are right back at the T-Mobile Arena for a matchup with the Arizona Coyotes Thursday, Nov. 17. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m.
The two turning points of this game came in the third period when San Jose scored their second and third goals of the game.
The second goal came 1:03 into the period off the stick of left-wing Matt Nieto which tied the game at two apiece. The third goal was a power play goal from right-wing Timo Meier which was a go-ahead goal to put San Jose up 3-2 with less than three minutes to play in regulation.
“Our special teams as a whole let us down late,” head coach Bruce Cassidy said. “I thought the second goal gave them life and that should never happen. If you are a good hockey club, take care of business in front of the net. It’s just a bad goal.”
Up until the power play goal, the Vegas penalty kill had killed off six straight penalties that they faced.
Vegas went 0-for-3 on the power play.
“It’s on us to find a way,” Marchessault said. “I think our power play is much better than last year, but we have to find ways to take over games.”
The first period belonged to the Knights as they jumped on the Sharks early. Marchessault had three high-quality chances to find the scoreboard but were shut down each of those times by San Jose goalie James Reimer.
The period ended with a bang when center Jack Eichel slammed one past Reimer with 3.9 seconds to go in the period to send Vegas into the first intermission with a 1-0 lead. Vegas led the shots on goal category 10-6 at the intermission.
The goal was Eichel’s 400th career point.
Marchessault later got his revenge on Reimer in the second period when he fired a shot past the San Jose goalie with just over four minutes to play in the period.
Marchessault’s goal was assisted by defenseman Alex Pietrangelo who is up to 13 assists on the season. It was also the seventh goal of the season for Marchessault.