Hertl, Golden Knights Overpower Sharks 7-2

The San Jose Sharks welcome the Vegas Golden Knights into SAP Center.

Collin Graf and Alex Wennberg scored, but the Sharks lost 7-2.

Period 1

3 in: Good by Eklund to draw the penalty, and on power play, be a drop option when it’s a little bit of a mess to get breakout going. Celebrini had gone up, but Eklund stayed back to be the backup drop option. Klingberg-Misa-Skinner-Chernyshov-Regenda is PP2,

6 in: Skinner with some real moves to beat Marner along the wall, gain entry.

Eichel goal: Looks like down low, Celebrini chases the puck when maybe he should stay home, there are two Sharks on the passer, no one on Eichel.

Graf goal: Misa looks quicker to me. Creates traffic on Graf shot. Nice exchange between Graf and Skinner, maybe a little chemistry forming for those two. That’s actually a legit promising third line pair of wingers, if Skinner’s recent burst is real. He had a good start to the season.

They just announced a Celebrini assist on the Graf goal. He's good, but not that good. He was on the bench.

That was a Misa assist, welcome back, Michael!

— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) January 12, 2026

Dorofeyev goal: After a good kill against the Stars, San Jose Sharks just can’t kill a play on this first Vegas PP. Hertl, Ostapchuk can’t stop him, with a soft touch pass to an unmarked Dorofeyev.

6 left: Misa still has to work on the puck protection and strength. Trying to come out from behind Askarov, Sissons blanketing him, Misa can’t escape, turnover. Nothing comes of it, but these small plays matter.

5 left: Eklund NZ interception, then he takes it himself to the net. He’s had some really nice pop tonight, good start.

3 left: Stone does a Selke-worthy one-on-one job killing Orlov bid at point. Toffoli does a great job replying, firm backcheck, eliminates Barbashev on wall. Great trade of one-on-one defensive plays.

2 left: Askarov robbed Smith! Orlov got swallowed up at point again, not his night so far. He’s been aggressive but slow, not a good combination.

1 left: Celebrini walks down PP point, he just shook Eichel off like a bug. Wow.

Period 2

Orlov back on PP1, he wasn’t on it at end of last period, I presume because he was on the shift that drew the power play. Celebrini just knifed through the Vegas PK, set up Eklund for the one-timer. Lindbom save.

Eichel goal: Liljegren stretch pass gets intercepted in NZ, counterattack. Eichel enters, then he melts off to the side, and Stone finds him on the weakside. One-on-one, he just beats Askarov. Huge momentum swing, as the San Jose Sharks were coming on.

6 in: Strong Goodrow shift, pickpockets Korczak, then lays a big hit.

7 in: Another amazing Celebrini play, stretch pass to him, for a second, he might have a breakaway, but he bobbles in NZ. So Celebrini is vulnerable, right? Lauzon, big dude, gets on top of him, as he should, but can’t take the puck away, Celebrini holds him off to draw the penalty. It’s just stuff you don’t normally see.

Dickinson penalty: Another swing moment.

Ferraro hit high, bleeding, able to skate off basically on his own. Goes into room immediately

— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) January 12, 2026

That should be a double-minor on Dorofeyev? Unless it’s follow-through.

Hertl goal: Vegas power play just bullies San Jose down low. Put puck in a place down low, just outskill and outmuscle them in front. San Jose Sharks haven’t played bad, but Golden Knights have taken advantage of their power play opportunities, Sharks have had chances but haven’t finished. Their PP not putting much pressure too, not like Vegas. Golden Knights, of course, have three truly elite playmakers on one PP in Stone, Marner, and Eichel. That’s basically an Olympic-caliber PP1. Going forward though, the Sharks need some beef (that can play) on defense, I think. You hope Dickinson gets there, but he’s not there yet.

Whitecloud goal: Long shot, Eklund in Askarov’s way, probably want Askarov to find that though?

Eklund penalty: Noted thug William Eklund with the board. Well, anyway, let’s see if the Sharks can start with one thing, and that’s kill a penalty.

Wennberg goal: On a plate for Wennberg one-timer. Soft pass by Liljegren. Regenda does nice job keeping puck alive on forecheck. Toffoli too. Sharks have a gasp of air.

Period 3

Eichel penalty: Notably, Klingberg back on PP1. Listless Sharks power play though. A little disappointing, because here was a window to make the game interesting. The power play was a difference-maker in a good way yesterday, the other way around today.

4 in: Really poor exit pass by Misa. That’s has to be a 100 percent routine play that gets intercepted, 2-on-1 the other way. That really cannot happen and needs to be ironed out if he’s going to help this playoff run.

6 in: After a resurgent game against the Stars, Chernyshov seems a step behind today. Not executing, not playing fast enough.

TV timeout: Love Melissa Sommer moving Roy out of the way so Mo can get the dance spotlight for Cotton-Eyed Joe.

8 in: Wennberg crossbar. Then another San Jose Sharks power play. This close to a game.

Hertl goal: Theodore also had an empty-netter. I got Celebrini being out there up until the empty-netter, not so much here. Also Celebrini’s turnover that led to another blackmark on Askarov’s Save %. Oh well. Not the game of Celebrini’s life, some marvelous plays as noted, but preventable huge mistakes too.

Celebrini’s points streak ends at 13. Don’t worry, more are coming. San Jose now 0-8-2 in games that Macklin did not score.