Golden Knights vs. Sharks: Position-by-position breakdown

The Golden Knights and San Jose Sharks have played each other 14 times over the last two seasons, so neither team is expecting any big surprises Wednesday.

A look at the matchups between the Golden Knights and San Jose Sharks and who has the edge in their first-round playoff series.

Forwards

This matchup comes down to health.

The Sharks have a scary lineup at full strength, but Timo Meier, their fourth-leading scorer with 66 points, and Joe Pavelski, their fifth-leading scorer with 64, enter as question marks.

Meier suffered an undisclosed injury in the Sharks’ second-to-last game and didn’t play in their regular-season finale. He is expected to play Wednesday, but it’s unclear if he’ll be 100 percent.

Pavelski played in the final game but didn’t have an impact with two shots on goal in 16:03. If he and Meier are healthy, the Sharks’ top lines have the edge. Statistically, the Knights’ leading scorer Jonathan Marchessault with 59 points brings the most firepower.

But if they’re not, the Knights certainly have enough depth in William Karlsson, Reilly Smith, Mark Stone, Paul Stastny, Max Pacioretty and Alex Tuch to sway the matchup.

Edge: Even

Defensemen

The edge in talent goes to the Sharks. Brent Burns and Erik Karlsson are Norris Trophy winners, while the Knights’ top seven blueliners have combined for zero All-Star Game appearances.

The Sharks’ depth isn’t bad outside of their headliners; Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Brenden Dillon are capable complementary pieces.

“They don’t have any weakness,” Marchessault said. “You look at their lineup, they’re great all around. That’s why they’ve been successful all year. It’s definitely going to be a hard task for us.”

The Knights’ defensive corps is solid with Nate Schmidt leading the charge. It just lacks the top-end production of the Sharks.

Edge: Sharks

Goaltending

The Knights appear to have the utmost confidence in Marc-Andre Fleury, who put together an impressive season at age 34 with 35 wins, eight shutouts, a .913 save percentage and a 2.51 goals-against average.

It’s a different story with Martin Jones and the Sharks.

Jones’ save percentage of .896 ranked 68th in the NHL this season and and 62nd among goaltenders with 10 or more starts. His goals-against average of 2.94 was 50th, and he’s struggled against the Knights.

Jones has been pulled early twice in his seven regular-season meetings with the Knights and was pulled twice in six games in the second round of the playoffs last season.

“I think it’s more of a coincidence,” William Karlsson said. “He’s a good goalie. Sometimes you get pulled. There’s no more to it than that.”

Edge: Knights

Coaching

Good luck choosing between the Knights’ Gerard Gallant and the Sharks’ Peter DeBoer.

Each has taken his current team to the Stanley Cup Final. In their current roles, each has made the playoffs every season. They even have similar winning percentages at their current stops.

DeBoer has won 55.7 percent. Gallant has won 57.3 percent.

But this series is likely going to come down to players, not coaches.

Edge: Even

Special teams

A talented blue line makes the Sharks’ special teams extra powerful. They scored on 23.6 percent of their power-play opportunities, sixth-best in the NHL, with Burns and Karlsson leading the way.

The Knights converted on only 16.8 percent of their chances, which ranked seventh-worst, and their penalty kill was near the middle of the pack. They killed 80.9 percent of opposing power plays, which is only a slightly better mark than the Sharks (80.8).

“Some games can be high-scoring against them because they have a good power play, and they definitely push our power play to work fast,” Smith said. “We’ve seen a lot of special teams battles against them.”

Edge: Sharks

Intangibles

The Sharks won 25 home games, tied for the fourth-most in the NHL, so home ice is a significant advantage for them.

They still have to prove they can beat the Knights, though. Vegas has outscored San Jose 54-35 in their first 14 meetings, including last season’s playoffs. The teams have played a lot of close games, but the Knights have had the edge so far.

Edge: Knights

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