Vegas 3, San Jose 2
When: 10:30 PM ET, Saturday, March 31, 2018
Where: T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada
Referees:
Jake Brenk, Marc Joannette
Linesmen:
Brian Mach, Pierre Racicot
Attendance:
18458
By Field Level Media
William Karlsson's highlight-reel, between-the-legs, short-handed goal midway through the third period broke a 2-2 tie and proved to be the game-winner as the expansion Vegas Golden Knights clinched the Pacific Division title with a 3-2 victory over the San Jose Sharks on Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Karlsson and Shea Theodore each had a goal and an assist and Oscar Lindberg also scored for Vegas (50-22-7, 107 points), which finished 29-10-2 at T-Mobile Arena during the regular season. Marc-Andre Fleury had 29 saves for the Golden Knights to pick up his 404th career victory, breaking a tie with Grant Fuhr for 11th place on the all-time wins list.
Karlsson's game-winner, his 42nd goal of the season, came with defenseman Jon Merrill serving a tripping penalty. The 25-year-old center scooped the puck up near center ice along the left boards and, as a diving Martin Jones came out to try and stick-check the puck away, Karlsson slid the puck between his legs and flipped it back over the blocker of Jones.
Joe Pavelski had a goal and an assist and Marc-Edouard Vlasic also scored for San Jose (44-25-10, 98), which dropped its third straight game. Jones finished with 35 saves for the Sharks, who play their final three games at home and have a magic number of two to clinch their 13th playoff berth in 14 seasons.
Theodore started the scoring at the 2:21 mark of the first period with his sixth goal of the season, firing a wrist shot from the top of slot past an Alex Tuch screen and through Jones' glove side.
Pavelski tied it five minutes later with a rebound from the slot of a Timo Meier shot for his 21st goal of the season.
Lindberg put the Golden Knights back in front, 2-1, early in the second period when he redirected Theodore's shot from the left side through Jones' pads. Vlasic tied it up again when he backhanded in a rebound of a Pavelski shot from the blue line during a delayed penalty for his 11th goal of the season.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
| San Jose |
|
Vegas |
|
Joe Pavelski 2 |
Points |
William Karlsson 2 |
|
Joe Pavelski 1 |
Goals |
William Karlsson 1 |
|
Joe Pavelski 1 |
Assists |
William Karlsson 1 |
|
N/A |
Power Play Goals |
N/A |
|
N/A |
Short Handed Goals |
William Karlsson 1 |
|
Martin Jones .921 |
Save Percentage |
Marc-Andre Fleury .935 |
|
Martin Jones 35 |
Saves |
Marc-Andre Fleury 29 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
| San Jose
|
31 |
2 |
0-2 |
4-4 |
28 |
30 |
| Vegas
|
38 |
3 |
0-4 |
2-2 |
4 |
38 |
Upcoming Games
-
Vegas will play their next game on the road against Vancouver. The Golden Knights have a W/L % of .612 after a win and .667 after a loss.
-
San Jose will play their next game at home against Dallas. The Sharks have a W/L % of .556 after a win and .559 after a loss.