SAN JOSE-Juho Piiparinen made sure his preseason night wasn’t spent simply surviving the moment.
The 18-year-old defenseman, taken by the Golden Knights in the first round in June after the fallout of the Pavel Dorofeyev trade with the New York Rangers, was in the middle of a 2-1 shootout win over the Sharks and showed why Vegas wanted a closer look. Piiparinen has already spent time against grown men in Finland, but this was a different test, and he handled plenty of it well against NHL-caliber talent.
Vegas needed that kind of steadiness because San Jose carried most of the first two periods. That wasn’t a surprise, with the Sharks dressing more of their regular NHL lineup. Even so, the Golden Knights stayed alive thanks to Piiparinen’s poise and Carter Hart’s work in net.
Hart was sharp when the structure in front of him slipped, matching up well with Sharks goalie Yaroslav Askarov and turning aside looks from Michael Misa and Collin Graf. San Jose eventually cashed in on the power play after Joe Fleming was called for elbowing, and Misa got the finish after a puck caromed off Vegas defenseman Antti Tuomisto and settled onto his stick for the game’s first goal.
Vegas had its own chances, too, including another encouraging showing from Jackson Hallum, who generated good looks for the second straight preseason game. But the Golden Knights found their best stretch through Alexander Holtz, whose line with Tanner Laczynski and Jonas Rondbjerg was the club’s most effective unit at both ends. Holtz connected on a one-timer with Braeden Bowman driving to the front of the net, and that helped keep Vegas in the fight.
Piiparinen then delivered his cleanest play of the night, breaking up a sequence involving Tyler Toffoli and Igor Chernyshov to keep the game level and send it to overtime.
Hart kept bailing out the Golden Knights there, too, and the game moved on to a shootout. Matyas Sapovaliv and Ivar Stenberg each scored for their sides in the early rounds, then Bowman finished his chance by slipping the puck through Askarov’s five-hole. Hart shut down Chernyshov and Luca Cagnoni after that, sealing the win for Vegas.
Hart earned the first star after stopping 28 of 29 San Jose shots, good for a .966 save percentage.
The Golden Knights now return to T-Mobile Arena for the rest of the preseason, starting with the Utah Mammoth on Thursday before closing against the same Sharks on Saturday.
In Other News...
Golden Knights Camp Cut Puts One Roster Logjam In Focus
The Golden Knights have trimmed their camp roster to 28 players, and the latest round of cuts says as much about the teams depth as it does about the players heading out the door. Several players were assigned to Hendersons training camp or moved to other teams, while the NHL group still features the kind of established core Vegas has come to lean on, with Jack Eichel, Mark Stone and Mitch Marner all in the mix as the season gets closer.
Among the more notable moves was Carl Lindboms assignment to the Silver Knights, a decision shaped less by what he did wrong than by how crowded the goaltending picture has become. Lindbom has put up strong numbers in previous stops, but Vegas is weighing the need for more NHL-level experience against a roster squeeze that leaves little room for every promising young player to stay in the big camp for long. [Read more 🡒]
Golden Knights Camp Is Creating One Big Power Play Concern
The Golden Knights are still only in the early stages of a shortened preseason camp, but Ryan Craig and Kelly McCrimmon have already had plenty to weigh as they sort through the roster. The Howden-Karlsson-Marner line is expected to keep giving the team a dependable boost, and Connelly looks like a leading option for a third-line role, which helps settle some of the forward picture.
The bigger question is how the top power play is going to settle after a notable reshuffle. Shea Theodore has moved up into the unit, and Mitch Marner has taken Pavel Dorofeyevs spot, a change that could alter the groups rhythm just as camp is trying to build momentum. For a team that has leaned on special teams in key moments, the way that unit comes together may end up drawing as much attention as any line battle. [Read more 🡒]
Golden Knights Are Sending A Clear Message About Trevor Connelly
Trevor Connelly has already made the early part of camp interesting for the Golden Knights, because the top prospect did more than simply stick around through the first round of roster cuts. He is expected to get into an upcoming game, and the way Vegas has handled him suggests this is about more than a token look.
Connelly has also been placed on the second power play unit with veteran players, a sign the organization wants to keep challenging him while also building him toward a larger role. After a strong season with the Henderson Silver Knights, he remains one of the higher-upside names in the system, and Vegas is making it clear it sees him as a player worth developing into a real contributor. [Read more 🡒]