The San Jose Sharks looked...hmmm, how should I say it? Terrible? Yes, terrible,two nights ago in Vegas. The Golden Knights looked very much like a team ready to compete for the Stanley Cup and the Sharks looked very much like a team going through the motions while playing at less than full strength.

Evander Kane (Suspension) and Erik Karlsson (Birth of his daughter) were not in the lineup and it showed. The Sharks had no bite, no flow and a total no-show in a 4-1 opening night defeat. Vegas outshot San Jose, 35-22 and scored both a power-play and shorthanded goal. Martin Jones allowed another first shot of the game goal and the rout was on.

The Golden Knights are now 6-1-2 all-time against the Sharks in the regular season and the two bitter rivals meet again tonight in San Jose.

The Sharks have got to be better because quite frankly they couldn't be any worse. Marc-Edouard Vlasic had a horrific game and the offense was all disjointed. There really was now offensive flow and the defense was under constant duress. The only reason the game was 6 or 7-1 was the play of Jones. For one night goaltending was not an issue.

This may sound funny to you, but the Sharks need a win tonight at SAP Center. They really can't afford to fall four points behind Vegas right out of the gate. The Golden Knights look like a team that is poised to run away with the division in a hurry.

The key to a Sharks win tonight?

- Everybody needs to play better. The defense was horrible, the young forwards looked shell-shocked and the vet-forwards didn't do nearly enough to make an impact.

Let's see what playing in front of an excited home crowd does to calm the nerves and get the tempo up. If the Sharks can't match the intensity of both Vegas and their own fans, it's going to be another long night for the teal and black.

***

Less than an hour before the game it was announced that Karlsson would miss the game for "personal reasons," and we all assumed the worst. Instead, it was great news for the Karlsson's. They welcomed a daughter more than a year after they lost their son at birth.

***

How about Joonas Donskoi? I think San Jose already misses him. :/

Thanks for reading,
Steve

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