Sharks Shutโฃ out Golden Knights in Preseason โฃOpener,โ Nedeljkovic โคShines
SAN โคJOSE, CA – โคthe San โฃJose โฃSharks defeated the Vegas โgoldenโ Knights 2-0โ in their preseason opener Sunday,โค highlighted by a 24-save shutout โperformance from goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic.โข The game, played in front of an eagerโ crowd, offered a first look atโค the Sharks’ revamped roster and coaching staff under head coach โคRyan Warsofsky.
The scoring โbegan with a goal โคfrom henry Skinner, set โup by a skillfulโ play involving โคWillโฃ Smith and Ryan Dickinson.โข Smith fed Sharks’ top prospect Misa Celebrini, who then passed to Dickinson before Dickinsonโค assistedโ Skinner. “I kind ofโข got confused behind โthe net in our zone [as of the] penalty. The goalie wasโฃ standing in a weird spot, โขso I โฃdidn’t know what was going on,” โDickinson explained. “Butโฃ once I saw that, I figured I’d get up in the rush. then a really nice pass by Smitty.[The defender] went down, [so I just had to] get aroundโ him, and put the puck to โคthe โnet.”
Nedeljkovic, makingโฃ his unofficial โฃSharks debut, was a key factorโข in the victory, โคstopping a breakaway late in โฃthe third period to preserve the shutout. Warsofsky praised โฃNedeljkovic’s performance, stating, “Goalie was good. Ned was really good.โ [He was] tracking pucks well.” He also notedโฃ areasโ for advancement, โฃadding, “Thereโค were some moments in the thirdโข period that we โneed to learn from. Some moments in โour game managementโฆthose are thingsโฃ that we have to learn from and teach really quickly here.”
Warsofsky acknowledged Nedeljkovic “bailed his team out from time toโค time” during the contest. The โขSharks’ goaltending โtandem of Nedeljkovic and โYaroslav Askarov, both noted for their puck-handling abilities, could potentially rank amongโ the top 10-15 in the โฃNHL, provided they remain โhealthy. The team’s goaltending depth is currently a concern, lacking a clear โฃthird-string option for the AHL.
Theโข Sharks will continue their โขpreseason schedule โคFriday night, hosting โthe Golden Knights for a rematch.