3 takeaways: Knights squander lead late, lose preseason finale

Preseason losses can normally be pushed to the wayside.

There may be an exception when the Golden Knights give up a two-goal lead in the final three minutes to lose in regulation.

The Knights wasted a hat trick from left wing Pavel Dorofeyev as the San Jose Sharks rallied for a 6-5 win Saturday at T-Mobile Arena.

Sharks right wing Luke Kunin scored twice on the man advantage, both on deflections in front of the net, to tie it 5-5 with 1:42 to go, then right wing Ethan Cardwell scored with 12 seconds remaining to seal the comeback.

It was a deflating few minutes to end the Knights’ preseason at 3-3-0 with the regular season now on the horizon. The Knights will open their eighth campaign at home Wednesday against the Colorado Avalanche.

“Not something you can just flush down the toilet,” captain Mark Stone said. “We need to be dialed in come Wednesday.”

Coach Bruce Cassidy has stressed the importance of respecting the game, even in preseason. That rang true with the Knights icing what is likely to be their opening night roster.

Cassidy said a lot of the game was good. For five games and 57 minutes of preseason, the Knights seemed to craft an identity. The final three minutes altered that for a moment.

“We got outworked,” Cassidy said. ” Give them credit for finding a way to score and get to the front of our net.”

Goaltender Adin Hill allowed all six goals on 29 shots in his second preseason start, with four of those tallies coming in the third period. San Jose tied it 3-3 35 seconds into the period on a shot from defenseman Mario Ferraro that Hill appeared to have trouble tracking.

That was the only goal that can be deemed Hill’s fault. The other goals came from breakdowns in coverage or deflections in front.

Other than that, things looked promising for the Knights.

The top power-play unit scored for the second straight game when Stone deflected a point shot from Shea Theodore to give the Knights a 4-3 lead at 3:28 of the third. They pushed the lead to 5-3 when Dorofeyev’s one-timer beat goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood for his third goal of the game, prompting a few hats to hit the ice surface.

“He’s finding ways to put himself in good spots and understanding who he’s playing with,” Stone said of Dorofeyev.

Here are three takeaways from the loss:

1. Dorofeyev seizes moment

What’s made Dorofeyev so impactful is his ability to score goals in different ways.

His first was via a backhand in front of the crease after receiving a pass from defenseman Alex Pietrangelo. The second came on a deflection from defenseman Zach Whitecloud.

His third goal was a one-timer from the right circle after receiving a cross-ice pass from center Tomas Hertl — who had three assists — for the two-goal lead.

“I’ve always liked Pav,” Cassidy said. “You can see it now that he may be ready to pop this year. I don’t want to put too much pressure on him, but we do feel that way.”

Dorofeyev has impressed at every chance of preseason, whether he’s playing with established NHL players, or playing with AHL regulars like he did Tuesday in Colorado.

He, Hertl and right wing Alexander Holtz combined for four of the Knights’ five goals. Cassidy may have a second line that works as center William Karlsson works his way back to game shape.

2. Fourth line’s debut

The first full-time rehearsal of the new fourth line had a strong outing.

Left wing Tanner Pearson was a minus-1 in 14:50 in his first game since signing a one-year contract that he earned following his professional tryout agreement.

The Knights outshot the Sharks 8-2 when the trio of Pearson, center Brett Howden and right wing Keegan Kolesar were on the ice and had a 9-1 edge in scoring chances.

3. Switching the top line

Cassidy switched Stone to the top line with center Jack Eichel and left wing Victor Olofsson to begin the game. That trio was out-attempted 7-3 in 5:49 of time at five-on-five.

Ivan Barbashev was moved up midway through the second period. The Knights had a 5-1 edge in scoring chances when that line played together.

Cassidy said he wanted to get a look at Olofsson in that spot, and also hinted that Eichel and Stone may start together on Wednesday if Karlsson is available.

Cassidy added there was nothing more to it, but “we do have to make a decision on Wednesday and have the best information available, even though some of these guys have played three, four games.”

Contact Danny Webster at dwebster@reviewjournal.com. Follow @DannyWebster21 on X.