The San Jose Sharks face a tall order on Thursday when they open their season at home against the defending Pacific Division champion Vegas Golden Knights.
The Sharks, who finished the 2024-25 season with an NHL-low 52 points, have yet to record a regulation victory versus Vegas in San Jose. The Golden Knights are 14-0-3 overall in road games versus the Sharks and 27-2-5 all-time against San Jose.
Sharks head coach Ryan Warsofsky said it will be important for his young and rebuilding team, led by 19-year-old Calder Trophy finalist Macklin Celebrini to get off to a good start. The Sharks were just 12-27-2 at home last season.
“We want to start on time,” Warsofsky said. “That will be a big key for us. We’ve got to get skating. There will be a good crowd (and) energy in the building.”
When asked what kind of identity he wanted his team to have this season, Warsofsky repeatedly used the word “relentless.”
“I would say we’re relentless,” Warsofsky said. “I think we’re relentless with the puck, we want to be on the attack, and when we don’t have it, we want to be relentless to get it back.
“I think we want to be a team, where we’re at right now, is we need to learn how not to beat ourselves. Sometimes you have to learn how not to lose before you learn how to win. That’s where we’re at right now.”
Perhaps the Sharks can take notes from the Golden Knights. Vegas has won five Pacific Division titles in eight seasons and skated off with the Stanley Cup in 2023.
The Golden Knights will be playing the second game of a back-to-back after losing to the Los Angeles Kings, 6-5, in a shootout on Wednesday in Las Vegas.
Pavel Dorofeyev recorded his third career hat trick and Jack Eichel had a goal and three assists. Eichel signed an eight-year, $108 million contract extension through the 2033-34 season earlier Wednesday,
Mitch Marner, who signed an eight-year, $98 million deal with the Golden Knights in the summer, added two assists in his Vegas debut. Marner, however, was stopped by Anton Forsberg on his shootout try to end the game.
“I thought there were some spots that we were good,” Eichel said. “Give them credit. They didn’t go away.”
Vegas rallied from a 3-1 deficit to take a 5-3 lead midway through the third period but Los Angeles scored twice in a 2:21 span to tie it. Trevor Moore scored a short-handed goal and Brandt Clarke then drove the net to forge a tie.
“It’s frustrating giving up a two-goal lead in the third,” Eichel said. “We’ll learn from that and be better for it. But there were some things to like. Obviously, we were down a few and got back in the game. Got the lead. Just want to be able to close that out.”
Said Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy: “We mismanaged some pucks along the way that ended up in our net and that was probably the difference in the game for us not getting two points as opposed to one. Those are things that we’ll get better at.”
