The San Jose Sharks and Vegas Golden Knights meet again in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Pacific Division foes are matched up in a battle of Western Conference titans.

A year ago San Jose was a mere speed bump in Vegas' surprising ascension to the Western Conference crown. This season feels a bit different. The Sharks held the Knights off in the standings to earn home-ice advantage and they needed every bit of that to win game 1.

It didn't matter as much in game two, thanks to sloppy passing, poor special teams, porous goaltending and a little help from the zebras.

Goals by Mark Stone and William Karlsson propelled Vegas to a 5-3 victory in game two. The series is tied 1-1. One play changed the course of the entire game and perhaps the series.

Goals by Cody Eakin, Colin Miller, and Max Pacioretty put the Knights up 3-0 before the game was even 10 minutes old. However, the Sharks rallied to tie the score with three goals in the final three minutes of a ridiculous first period.

San Jose appeared to grab a 4-3 lead less than a minute into the second period. Instead, the goal was waved off and Logan Couture was called for goalie interference. Vegas scored on the ensuing power play and the Sharks magic was gone.

The contact looked insignificant and took place outside of the paint. Couture may have even been forced back. Whatever the case, it changed the game.... now the Sharks must brush aside the adversity and get ready to bounce back in the hostile and raucous clown-show known as T-Mobile Arena.

Some thoughts...

- San Jose was being way too cute with their passing and Vegas burned them with TWO shorthanded goals. The Sharks squandered too many opportunities with their own careless play.

- The Sharks have to tighten up defensively because chances are any mistake they make will end up in the back of the net. Martin Jones was not good. His positioning was awful and Vegas was very clearly targeting his blocker side because it's a glaring weakness.

- I love love, love what Evander Kane brings to this team, especially in a series with so much hate in it. Kane single-handedly made the Sharks third goal happen. He's throwing the body around and getting under Vegas' skin. I love it.

- Vegas is too good for a second-year team. It's sickening. The additions of Stone. Stastny and Pacioretty are almost laughable. But, not as laughable as the golden sparkles on the sweater sleeves.

- The series is going to be a long and brutal one, The hate is palpable and it boiled over with blood, sticks, and fists at the end of game two. Buckle up. Game three in Las Vegas will be bonkers.

- Joe Thornton scored a beautiful goal and despite the loss, any day Jumbo scores a goal, is a good one.

- Marc-Edouard Vlasic left the game with an undisclosed injury and didn't return for the second and third periods. If he misses any significant time, it could be a gut-punch for the Sharks playoff hopes.

Games 3 and 4 of the best-of-seven series are at T-Mobile Arena on Sunday (7 p.m.) and Tuesday (7:30 p.m.)

Thanks for reading,
Steve

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