Golden Knights end preseason with 5-3 loss to Sharks
The dress rehearsals are over. The next time the Golden Knights step onto the ice, which will be Friday in Dallas against the Stars, the competition is for real.
The Knights completed their first NHL preseason Sunday and are still searching for success on their home ice after losing 5-3 to the San Jose Sharks at T-Mobile Arena before an announced crowd of 16,479. The Knights, who had started 3-1 in the preseason, finished 3-4 and lost all three games in their building. Still, coach Gerard Gallant and his players say progress has been made.
“Overall, it was a good preseason,” Gallant said. “The guys worked hard. There were no serious injuries. As a coach, I’m happy the preseason is over.
“You don’t like to lose preseason games. But we got to look at some line combinations and some defensive pairings and there’s still some experimenting with our lines that you’ll see the next few days before we start the season.”
One line Gallant put together for Sunday was Erik Haula centering for Alex Tuch and Brendan Leipsic. The Knights built a 1-0 lead on Haula’s breakaway goal 8:08 into the contest. They hustled throughout and though they had not played together in a game, the trio seemed comfortable.
“I thought we played well,” said Leipsic, who missed part of the preseason with a shoulder injury and was limited to just two games as he tried to make one final positive impression in his attempt to land a roster spot. “We were trying to make things happen.”
Haula said: “We had good energy and good chemistry. We were doing a lot of good things. But I’m not going to stand here and say we played a perfect game when we didn’t. If we’re going to be a line, we have to do things better. We can pass the puck better. We can communicate better.”
San Jose scored three unanswered goals to take a 3-1 second-period lead before the Knights were able to rally as David Perron and Colin Miller scored 4:08 apart to tie the game going into the third period.
Goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, making his second consecutive start in goal, kept his team in it with several big saves, the biggest coming during a Sharks power play late in the second period when he slid across his crease and used his blocker to stop Mikkel Boedker who was shooting at an empty net while camped at the left goal post.
But Fleury was unable to secure a loose puck after Nick DeSimone’s shot from close in snuck under his pads and across the goal line with 9:09 to play for what was the game-winner as the Sharks wrapped up their preseason 3-3.
Center Cody Eakin, who was consistently one of the best players on the ice for the Knights during the preseason, said the mistakes the team has made in its last three games are correctable.
“I thought we got better each day as a team,” Eakin said. “It’s a new situation. Guys who’ve never played together playing for the first time. There’s just some simple mistakes that can be fixed.”
The Knights probably could have used a couple of more tuneups. But they will have to make those adjustments in practice the next few days. Cuts are coming as early as Monday and the team must turn in its 23-man roster to the NHL by 2 p.m. Tuesday. For some, it will be a nervous next 24 hours. For those whose jobs are secure, it’s time to move forward.
“It takes time,” Haula said of building team chemistry. “But we start Friday and time’s up.”
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Contact Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913. Follow @stevecarprj on Twitter.
