LAS VEGAS — The Vegas Golden Knights return to the ice tonight for a 7 p.m. matchup against the San Jose Sharks at T-Mobile Arena.
The Sharks a winless thus far this season (0-6-2), but that doesn’t mean the Golden Knights (5-2-1) are overlooking them.
“You can go in there thinking, ‘They haven’t won. Well, we can go put our skates on and go out (and win),’” Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy said. “That’s not the case in this league. There are no easy games in the National Hockey League.”
Mark Stone leads the team with 14 points (three goals, 11 assists). Ivan Barbashev owns the most goals with seven.
Ilya Samsonov will start in net for the Golden Knights.
Rare Vegas Golden Knights morning skate
Vegas held a rare full-team morning skate on the second day of a back-to-back.
Cassidy wanted to have this skate for three reasons.
The first was to get the team refocused on taking on San Jose. William Karlsson’s return also played a factor, as they wanted to get him more reps. The final reason was to give Samsonov a chance to see live practice action before his start.
“I would probably never done it. I told the guys that and was very upfront with why we’re going out,” Cassidy said. “I thought we didn’t execute very well yesterday. So, let’s get out there and get some touches. We kind of made it a bit shorter.
“I talked to a few guys. They were on the same boat.”
Hertl’s first time against the Sharks
Tomas Hertl will play against the San Jose Sharks for the first time in his 12-year career. He spent 11 seasons with the Sharks before being traded to Vegas at the trade deadline last season.
When asked on Friday, Hertl said he hadn’t reached out to his former teammates. He added that it’s been hard to do so given the team’s early struggles.
“It’s tough when I see what’s happening there,” Hertl said. “They’re 0-8. So it’s not easy. If we didn’t play, I would be with the other guys for dinner, but I’ll probably see them after the game. I want to play a good game, have two points, and enjoy the talk after the game.”
???? Hertl: It's why we are a good team, we stay with it. pic.twitter.com/LB9FaenobP
— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) October 26, 2024
In 11 seasons with the Sharks, Hertl scored 218 goals with 266 assists. The Sharks drafted Hertl in the 2012 NHL Draft.
“I had a great time (in San Jose),” Hertl said. “Even though (Vegas) is the No. 1 team for me, and I do everything for them. I obviously still follow (the Sharks) because I got friends there, and the team gave me everything.”
Hague out; Karlsson in for Vegas Golden Knights
Karlsson will debut tonight after missing the first eight games with an undisclosed injury.
???? pic.twitter.com/Sy7AFgDoIB
— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) October 26, 2024
He will play on the third line alongside Tanner Pearson and Alexander Holtz. Cole Schwindt draws out of the lineup.
Nicolas Hague will be out with a lower-body injury in other lineup news. Kaedan Korczak will play in his spot.
“He’s day to day. Not in today,” Cassidy said of Hague. “Tomorrow is a scheduled day off. We’ll look at it on Monday and see how he’s feeling and make the call there.”
Paul Delos Santos is the Las Vegas sports insider for Dice City Sports. Follow him on X at @PaulDelos_.
