Preseason has gone perfectly for the Vegas Golden Knights so far and they currently have a record of 4-0-0 after beating the San Jose Sharks 3-1 on Saturday night.
Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 28 of 29 shots and Max Pacioretty had himself a three point night (one goal, two assists) as the Vegas Golden Knights continued to roll in the preseason, and they have now outscored their opponents 17-5 in exhibition games.
Valentin Zykov, one of four players vying for the vacant left wing role on the third line, got the Knights on the board with a backhand goal and that lead was added to in the second period thanks to Pacioretty’s fourth goal of the preseason.
Antti Suomela redirected Marc-Edouard Vlasic‘s shot past Fleury, but Alex Tuch completed the scoring early in the third period with a power play goal as the Golden Knights continued to roll in the preseason.
It wasn’t the perfect game from Vegas but you aren’t meant to be at full speed in preseason, although a few individuals stood out and really stole the show with certain players making the most of their opportunity…
1. Alex Tuch
The first of four players that really caught our eye is a familiar name and one who is coming off the back of a 52-point season in 2018-19. Alex Tuch recorded his first goal of the preseason against the Sharks after playing a game of tic-tac-toe with Max Pacioretty before snapping the puck beyond Martin Jones.
But it was Tuch’s performance on special teams that really stood out to us. Vegas Head Coach Gerard Gallant revealed last week that Tuch would get some time on the penalty kill in the preseason, and it is an experiment that is working well so far.
Tuch’s combination of power, speed, skill and his long reach is perfectly suited to the PK and he used all of those qualities to great effect against San Jose, and he was an absolute nightmare for the Sharks’ power play in the neutral zone.
❌ tic
— 🏆 - Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) September 22, 2019
⭕️ tac
🚨 tuch pic.twitter.com/APBZnc3p51
His goal was also executed to perfection over Martin Jones’ high short side, but his ability to excel on the penalty kill adds a different string to his bow and that should see the forward used a boatload of times on special teams throughout the regular season.
And, given that Tuch will see a slight dip in his 5-on-5 minutes due to the fact that he will be used on the third line in 2019-20, logging minutes on both the power play and on the penalty kill should help to bridge that gap.