Golden Knights report: Sharks rivalry gets increasingly lopsided

Golden Knights at Sharks

RJ’s three stars

3. Knights left wing Max Pacioretty — He had a goal and an assist for his second straight multi-point game. He has three goals in his last two games to give him the second-most on the team with 15. Only left wing Jonathan Marchessault (20) has more.

2. Knights center Jack Eichel — He got a goal and an assist for his first multi-point game with the team. His goal was his first since Jan. 28, 2021, before he was traded to the Knights and had artificial disk replacement surgery on his neck.

1. Knights goaltender Logan Thompson — The rookie made 35 saves in his second NHL start for his first win. He had a shutout going until center Nick Bonino scored with 9:43 remaining. Thompson has a .938 save percentage through three games.

Key play

Eichel’s goal.

The center circled the offensive zone late in the first period with the Knights and the Sharks playing 4-on-4. He passed to teammate Chandler Stephenson in front of the net, but Stephenson decided not to shoot.

Stephenson instead cut behind the net with his backhand and Eichel darted towards the crease. Stephenson fed Eichel the puck a few feet in front of goaltender James Reimer and Eichel redirected it into the net.

It was Eichel’s 140th goal in 378 NHL games and his first with the Knights. He later got an assist on Pacioretty’s goal and he has three points in three games this season.

Key stat

17-1-3 — The Knights’ all-time record against the Sharks.

Their .881 points percentage against San Jose is their third-best against any opponent, behind only Vancouver (.909) and Seattle (1.000). They’ve only played the Kraken twice.

The Knights have won 10 straight against the Sharks. Their last loss came in overtime Nov. 21, 2019. The winning streak is the Knights’ longest against any opponent. It’s five games longer than their next-longest active streak, which is against Ottawa.

Knights quotable

“(Coach) Pete (DeBoer) told me yesterday at practice that I was going to start in San Jose. I was a lot more calm this time than the first time. I was just real excited and looking forward to the opportunity.” — Thompson to AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain

Knights’ next 10

At Arizona, 6:30 p.m. Friday

Vs. Colorado, 7 p.m. Saturday

Vs. San Jose, 7 p.m. March 1

Vs. Boston, 6 p.m. March 3

At Anaheim, 7 p.m. March 4

Vs. Ottawa, 5 p.m. March 6

At Philadelphia, 4 p.m. March 8

At Buffalo, 4 p.m. March 10

At Pittsburgh, 4 p.m. March 11

At Columbus, 3 p.m. March 13

Contact Ben Gotz at bgotz@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BenSGotz on Twitter.