SAN JOSE, Calif. — Nic Hague and Nicolas Roy scored in the final 2 minutes of the second period and the Vegas Golden Knights spoiled San Jose’s season opener by beating the Sharks 4-1 on Thursday night.
The teams were locked in a tight game before Vegas broke it open with the goals from Hague and Roy 53 seconds apart.
Michael Amadio also scored and Brayden Pachal added his first career goal to help the defending champions win their second straight to open the season.
“Tonight I thought it was our guys that we don’t typically rely on that did a lot,” coach Bruce Cassidy said. “That shows you’re a good team when you don’t need your top guys to have their ‘A’ games all the time. Tonight I thought some of them were fine, but not dominant like they can be and have been. … It’s not the usual suspects and you need that if you’re going to be a good team.”
Logan Thompson made 22 saves in his first regular-season game since being sidelined by a lower-body injury last March.
“I’m relieved it’s over,” Thompson said. “I always think the first one is the hardest. So happy to get the win. I thought the guys played great tonight. It made my life pretty easy out there.”
Filip Zadina scored the lone goal for the Sharks, who lost their fifth opener in the last seven seasons. Kaapo Kahkonen made 27 saves in his first career season-opening start.
Vegas Golden Knights right wing Michael Amadio (22) is congratulated after scoring against the San Jose Sharks during the first period of an NHL hockey game in San Jose, Calif., Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023. Credit: AP/Jeff Chiu
“We’re still coming together as a team and there were a lot of things I liked about our game tonight,” coach David Quinn said. “For 38 minutes, it’s a 1-1 hockey game, and then we didn’t handle the adversity the way that we need to.”
The Sharks, who missed the playoffs for a fourth straight year last season for the first time in franchise history, opened the season in front of a…
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