Morning Skate Report: Dec. 10, 2023

The Vegas Golden Knights (18-5-5) return home to face the San Jose Sharks (8-17-2) on Sunday at 7 p.m. at T-Mobile Arena.

BROADCAST INFORMATION
TV: Vegas 34 (Scripps Sports)
Streaming: KnightTime+
Radio: FOX Sports Las Vegas 98.9/1340 | Deportes Vegas 1460

NOTES
Sunday's game is the third of four meetings this season between Vegas and San Jose.

The Golden Knights hold a 2-0-0 record against the Sharks this season.

VGK MILESTONE WATCH
Chandler Stephenson – one point away from 200 points as a Golden Knight
William Karlsson – one assist away from 200 assists as a Golden Knight
William Carrier – four points away from 100 as a Golden Knight

CAREER MILESTONE WATCH
Zach Whitecloud – two points away from 50 career points
William Carrier – one game away from 400 career games

VGK SCORING LEADERS
Jack Eichel – 31 points (12G, 19A)
William Karlsson – 26 points (12G, 14A)
Mark Stone – 24 points (8G, 16A)
Jonathan Marchessault - 18 points (12G, 6A)
Shea Theodore – 18 points (4G, 14A)

LAST TIME OUT
The Golden Knights swept the season series and another Dads Trip with a dominating 6-1 win against the Dallas Stars on Saturday at American Airlines Center. Chandler Stephenson opened the scoring with a backhand shot less than three minutes into the opening frame. Three minutes later, Zach Whitecloud extended Vegas' lead to 2-0. Evgenii Dadonov cut the lead to 2-1 for the Stars five minutes after. Mark Stone found the back of the net four minutes later to put the Golden Knights up 3-1. In the second period, Nicolas Roy notched yet another goal for Vegas, making it 4-1. Pavel Dorofeyev and Paul Cotter both netted goals in the final frame, bringing the final score to 6-1 Golden Knights.

OPPOSITION UPDATE
Entering Sunday's game, the Sharks are in last place in the Pacific Division with a 8-17-2 record for a total of 18 points. They are coming off a 6-5 overtime win over the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday. Their leading scorer is Tomas Hertl with 23 points (9G, 14A).

SEASON SERIES
Vegas and San Jose will meet for the third time this season. The Golden Knights are 2-0-0 against the Sharks thus far. On Oct. 12, the Golden Knights skated to a 4-1 win over the Sharks at SAP Center. Michael Amadio, Nicolas Hague, Nicolas Roy and Brayden Pachal were the goalscorers for Vegas. The Golden Knights then shut out the Sharks on Nov. 10 by a score of 5-0 at T-Mobile Arena. Alex Pietrangelo, William Karlsson and Brett Howden all scored one goal in the victory, while Alec Martinez scored twice.

A VEGAS VICTORY WOULD...
-Mark the 286th win in franchise history
-Improve the Golden Knights' all-time record against the Sharks to 23-2-5

KEYS TO THE GAME
Keep that same energy: Vegas is riding the high off another successful Dads Trip, going 2-0-0 in St. Louis and Dallas and scoring 12 goals in two games. Even though it's the second of a back-to-back, the Golden Knights can ride the momentum of the high-scoring Dads Trip games to get them ready to play on Sunday evening.

Home sweet home: The Golden Knights have been on the road for 10 games in the last month alone. The team can take a breather and enjoy playing in front of their home crowd again, as this game begins a four-game homestand for Vegas.