Knights shut out by Sharks in preseason opener

The Golden Knights iced a team mostly of rookies, some veterans sprinkled in, while the San Jose Sharks were using top-six wingers and top-four defensemen.

The talent discrepancy was wide in the preseason opener Sunday, with the Knights losing 3-0 to the Sharks at SAP Center.

The Knights had a capable veteran presence on the ice. Fourth-line wingers Brett Howden and Keegan Kolesar played a top-line role, and defensemen Kaedan Korczak and Ben Hutton played their first game as a prospective third pairing.

But the Sharks mixed their youth — led by 2025 No. 2 overall pick Michael Misa and 2023 fourth overall pick Will Smith — with a notable veteran presence.

“Now we’re looking at our team game, plus evaluating individuals that I haven’t seen a lot of,” Knights coach Bruce Cassidy said on the team’s postgame show.

Defenseman John Klingberg scored a power-play goal, and wingers Jeff Skinner and Tyler Toffoli also scored for San Jose.

San Jose goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic had a 24-save shutout.

Here are three takeaways from the loss:

1. Goalies, especially Lindbom, sharp

Carl Lindbom looked more than comfortable in his NHL preseason debut.

The 22-year-old from Sweden, the No. 3 goalie in the organization, stopped 10 of 11 shots in 31 minutes.

Jesper Vikman, the fifth-round pick from 2020, made eight saves in the second half of the game.

“I thought they both looked fine, composed, got out to play the pucks,” Cassidy said. “That’s definitely a positive.”

Lindbom didn’t face much traffic in the first period with only four shots, but he was busy in the second period and settled in quickly.

Klingberg scored a power-play goal 7:18 into the second period to open the scoring for a 1-0 Sharks lead.

There wasn’t much Lindbom could do. He was screened, and there was no pressure on the offensive-minded Klingberg near the blue line.

Outside of that, Lindbom was solid. He looked calm in his first taste of NHL preseason action and read pucks well.

2. Opportunity for Uchacz

Cassidy is spending the preseason looking not for players who can make the opening night roster, but who could be those first call-ups.

Kai Uchacz may be in position to get a chance.

Uchacz, an undrafted forward who made his professional debut in Henderson last season, centered between Howden and Kolesar on the top line.

The 22-year-old went 5-of-10 in the faceoff circle in 16:43. He didn’t look out of place and played a strong 200-foot game.

Uchacz had 30 points with the Silver Knights and could be seen in a top-six role in Henderson. Right wing Braeden Bowman could also be considered for a call-up at some point.

3. Special teams struggles

The Knights have yet to work on the power play or penalty kill in camp because the first three days were dedicated to the offensive, defensive and neutral zones.

Cassidy said it showed with the Knights going 0-for-4 on the power play and allowing the power-play goal to Klingberg.

“We haven’t practiced special teams,” Cassidy said. “That’s on me. That’s how we prepare our camps, to worry about five-on-five and fundamentals.”

They had some looks on the power play. Right wing Raphael Lavoie had a one-timer hit the side of the net despite good passing to set it up.

Chasing the game, however, the Knights were pressing and couldn’t get set cleanly on the man advantage.

Those fixes will come in time, likely starting Wednesday when the Knights return to practice following their first round of cuts.

Contact Danny Webster at dwebster@reviewjournal.com. Follow @DannyWebster21 on X.