The Vegas Golden Knights made sure their last game before the Christmas break never turned into a grind, delivering their cleanest start of the season when it mattered most.
Vegas scored five goals in the first period and rolled to a 7-2 win over the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday night at T-Mobile Arena, setting the tone early and never letting San Jose recover.
Eight different Golden Knights scored, 12 players recorded at least one point and the game was effectively decided before the first intermission.
“It’s rare,” coach Bruce Cassidy said. “To be up five-nothing after one period is probably going to happen once a year. What I liked was that when it got to two or three, we didn’t change the way we played.”
A first period that flipped everything
Vegas wasted no time turning pace into goals.
Brett Howden opened the scoring 1:46 into the game. Mitch Marner followed with a power-play goal at 9:07. Colton Sissons made it 3-0 at 11:37, Tomas Hertl struck at 14:57 and Mark Stone capped the outburst with a backhand goal at 18:34.
Five goals on 17 shots, from five different scorers, buried San Jose early and allowed Vegas to dictate matchups and minutes the rest of the night.
Cassidy pointed to discipline as much as offense.
“When it got to two, maybe three-nothing, we didn’t give up much,” he said. “We stayed with our game.”
Depth, not dependence
The numbers told a familiar Vegas story.
Marner finished with two goals. Stone had a goal and an assist. Ivan Barbashev recorded two assists. Pavel Dorofeyev added two assists, while Kaedan Korczak and Brayden Bowman each picked up two helpers from the blue line.
Sissons, Reilly Smith, Hertl and Howden all scored, giving Vegas offense from every line and position group, even with one core forward still out of the lineup.
“That doesn’t happen often,” Cassidy said. “Minutes are more balanced when you have a lead. Good for Sissons to get on the board. Smith scoring helps confidence. We got different types of goals.”
When it’s your night
San Jose pushed back in the third period, outshooting Vegas 14-4, but the game never truly tightened.
Cassidy pointed to a sequence where Zach Whitecloud and Ben Hutton sprawled in the crease to deny a chance, which led to an odd-man rush and Marner’s second goal.
“That’s when it’s your night,” Cassidy said. “We got a little sloppy and they pushed. But our guys care. They want to win.”
Carter Hart (7-4-1) finished with 21 saves, steady through San Jose’s late push and backed by shot blocks and defensive detail in front of him.
A clean ending before the break
For Marner, who continues to adjust to playing center, the night was more about execution than results.
“The first one’s a lucky bounce,” Marner said. “The second was a great play. Barbashev wins a board battle, hits Stone and then finds me back door.”
Vegas heads into the break with momentum, balance and a clear reminder of what it looks like when it arrives on time from the opening faceoff.
“You live with this one for three days,” Cassidy said. “Happy to see them respond.”
Up next for the Golden Knights
The Vegas Golden Knights (17-8-10) stay home for a three-game stretch at T-Mobile Arena, starting Saturday, Dec. 27, against the Colorado Avalanche (27-2-7) at 10 p.m. EST.
Vegas then hosts the Minnesota Wild (22-10-6) on Monday, Dec. 29, with puck drop set for 10 p.m. EST.
The homestand wraps Wednesday, Dec. 31, when the Golden Knights face the Nashville Predators (16-16-4) at 3 p.m. EST.
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