Golden Knights rout Sharks 7-2 as Tomas Hertl hits career-high five points
Tomas Hertl posted a career-high five points and the Vegas Golden Knights rolled past the San Jose Sharks 7-2 on Sunday night at SAP Center. Vegas won its fourth straight, all this week, and improved to 21-11-12 (54 points). With Edmonton idle, the Golden Knights opened a three-point lead in the Pacific and pushed their cushion to five points over third-place San Jose
The Golden Knights went 2-for-4 on the power play and killed all five Sharks chances, and the win completed a season-series sweep of San Jose for the third straight year. It was also the first time this season Vegas has won both ends of a back-to-back.
Eichel jumps it, Dorofeyev finishes the job
Jack Eichel opened the scoring at 7:19, finishing from in tight to put Vegas up 1-0. It gave him goals in three straight games and marked his 300th point as a Golden Knight.
Ivan Barbashev and Jeremy Lauzon had the assists. However, San Jose answered at 9:33 when Colin Graf beat Carl Lindbom, with Jeff Skinner and Macklin Misa assisting to tie it 1-1.
Then Timothy Liljegren tripped Eichel at 9:54, and Vegas made it count. Pavel Dorofeyev scored on the power play at 10:57 off feeds from Tomas Hertl and Mark Stone, pushing the Knights back in front 2-1. Dorofeyev’s goal was his 11th power-play goal this season.
Meanwhile, Vegas carried play and led 13-7 in shots after 20 minutes. The Knights also killed an early Noah Hanifin tripping penalty at 3:09. However, Dorofeyev took a slashing minor at 18:48, so San Jose opened the second on the power play. Carl Lindbom stopped 6 of 7 in the period.
With Carter Hart sidelined, the Golden Knights turned to the 22-year-old Lindbom, a Stockholm, Sweden native. Hart left Thursday’s game against the Columbus Blue Jackets after a crease collision on Boone Jenner’s opening goal, and he did not return. Less than 24 hours later, Vegas recalled Lindbom from AHL Henderson. On Saturday, coach Bruce Cassidy said Hart is week-to-week with a lower-body injury. Lindbom was a seventh-round pick in 2021, taken 222nd overall, and Sunday was his first NHL appearance since Nov. 29, 2025.
Eichel’s message, then Vegas pours it on
“Try to attack, get to the net and just stick with it,” Eichel told the Golden Knights’ Scripps Sports rinkside reporter Ashali Vise during the first intermission. Vegas backed it up in the second, scoring three times and taking a 5-2 lead into the break.
Eichel made it 3-1 at 4:19, snapping home his second of the night after Stone forced a turnover and set him up. Later, Hertl scored a power-play goal at 11:00 after Sam Dickinson was called for slashing Jeremy Lauzon at 9:33, with Dorofeyev and Mitch Marner assisting. Then Zach Whitecloud hammered a slap shot at 12:25 off feeds from Hertl and Hanifin to make it 5-1.
However, San Jose answered late when Alexander Wennberg scored at 16:29 to cut it to 5-2. Still, Vegas controlled the period and outshot the Sharks 11-5.
Theodore seals it, Hertl adds the final punch
Vegas kept the third period simple and clean, then closed it out late. Shea Theodore made it 6-2 at 17:03 with San Jose’s net empty, finishing a feed from Tomas Hertl.
Tomas Hertl added the final goal at 18:59, scoring again off setups from Pavel Dorofeyev and Noah Hanifin to make it 7-2. Carl Lindbom closed the night with 18 saves on 20 shots for the second win of his NHL career, and both have come against the Sharks.
Hertl’s five-point takeover
Two of those points came after Hertl took a puck to the face while blocking a shot and stayed in the game. Hertl turned Sunday into a personal highlight reel, piling up a career-high five points on 2 goals and 3 assists. He factored into five of Vegas’ seven goals, and he did it at SAP Center against his former team.
Stone quietly drove the night with 3 assists, and Dorofeyev finished with a goal and 2 assists. Eichel scored twice, while Hanifin added 2 assists and Whitecloud and Theodore chipped in goals to round out the scoring sheet.
Up next for the Golden Knights:
Vegas continues its trip Wednesday, Jan. 14, visiting the Los Angeles Kings (18-14-10) at 7 p.m. PT. The Golden Knights (20-11-12) return to the Fortress Thursday, Jan. 15, to host the Toronto Maple Leafs (22-15-7) at 6:30 p.m. PT. Vegas stays home Saturday, Jan. 17, welcoming the Nashville Predators (20-20-4) at 7 p.m. PT at T-Mobile.
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