*Photo from the Press Democrat*
Man, what a night it was for the Hot Dog man himself. Shea Theodore had a goal and an assist, Phil Kessel reached a pair of milestones, and the Vegas Golden Knights defeated the San Jose Sharks with a 4-2 victory on Tuesday night in San Jose.
Playing on the second end of a back to back, everyone knew Kessel was going to become the new NHL ironman, playing in his 990th straight game, the most in league history. But he was also one goal away from 400 in his career. He accomplished that as well, and it gave Vegas the win on a big night.
Vegas head coach Bruce Cassidy said of Kessel's 400th goal that "Isn't that ironic how it works out? Good for him. He certainly earned it. Those young legs were churning on that one. He still skates, still makes plays. Very happy for him. Obviously, it's a big night for him. You want to remember when you break a record with a win. To be able to score a goal, something he's done his whole life to get to 400, I think is just great. It's a great night for him, and we're all happy to be part of it."
The win for the Golden Knights also continues a strong start to the season in Cassidy's first year behind the Vegas bench. They've now won two straight games, improving their record to 6-2-0. Their 12 points being best in the Western Conference and tied with the Boston Bruins for best in the NHL.
Kessel picked up the historic 400th goal at the 15:51 mark of the first period, with Brett Howden assisting to make it 1-0 after one period. In the second period, Nico Sturm scored for the Sharks, tying the game 1-1 on his 4th goal of the year. Matt Nieto then gave the Sharks a 2-1 lead with just 35 seconds left in the second.
Right off the bat in the 3rd period, the Golden Knights tied the score. It was Theodore who did it, making it 2-2 just 55 seconds into the 3rd. William Karlsson then scored 13:13 into the frame, giving Vegas a 3-2 lead with assists from Alec Martinez and Reilly Smith. Mark Stone then made it 4-2 with his second goal of the year.
Starting for the Golden Knights was Adin Hill, who was traded to Vegas by the Sharks in the offseason. Hill put together a solid night, stopping 29 of the 31 shots that his old team put on net, good for a .935 save percentage. Hill remains unbeaten on the year, with a 3-0-0 record in as many games.
Hill said of Kessel's milestones that "I think all the boys wanted to rally behind him. We didn’t have the second period that we wanted to have, and then we kind of had a little talk in the locker room and just kind of a gut check. I thought we responded in the third period and the results showed."
The Sharks trotted out James Reimer to make the start, and he held his own, but was bested by Hill on the other end of the ice. Reimer turned aside 27 out of 31 shots that Vegas sent at him, posting a .871 save percentage as his record dropped to 2-4-0 to start the season.
Sturm gave his thoughts on the loss, saying after the game that "Today, like so many games this season already, I feel like we’re playing a good opponent and we’re shooting ourselves in the foot in a game that was absolutely winnable. Today was winnable. If you're playing a team that's coming off a back-to-back, you can't have a third period like that, right? You're supposed to have the fresher legs. We totally screwed that one up."
Up next, the Sharks get back in action on Thursday night when they welcome the Toronto Maple Leafs to town, with Reimer the projected starter. The Golden Knights host the Anaheim Ducks on Friday night, with Logan Thompson in line to get the start.
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