The Sharks played their 2025-26 season opener Thursday night against the Vegas Golden Knights, and I was fortunate to be in attendance for their first game of the new season. Opening night was an experience like no other hockey game I have attended before. We first begin with the pregame festival outside SAP Center: I was not able to make it in time for the players walking out on the teal carpet, but certain aspects of the pregame street festival were certainly worth checking out, specifically the lowrider show, the brand new Sharks Way sign, and and the large Shark head inflatable near the entrance of the arena. More from the lowrider show part will be featured on my car photo blog, Carson's Car Pics.
Next, once I entered SAP Center, I received a highly anticipated giveaway item that I was greatly looking forward to receiving, which was a Macklin Celebrini + Will Smith Sleepover Bobblehead. Immediately after, my friend and I had to head straight to the Sharks Foundation booth to purchase the Tyler Toffoli Sleepover Bobblehead extension before they sold out, which we were successfully able to do. I also was able to meet and get photos with S.J. Sharkie for a third time before heading to the team store to purchase a 35th Anniversary-themed puck. After visiting the Sharks Pro Shop, I then headed down to center ice to catch warmups, which are always great to see. Following warmups, the view from my seat was pretty good and had less obstructions than where I sat during the last two Sharks games I attended last season. The pregame hype video that played on the jumbotron and the length of the ice looked amazing, and unlike most other games, since this was the season opener, a ceremony was held to introduce the opening night roster, which was definitely great to witness.
Soon after, the ceremonial puck drop took place involving San Jose mayor Matt Mahan, and the game was underway moments later. Early in the first period, the Sharks struck first when Jeff Skinner roofed one for his first goal as a Shark and his 700th NHL point, with assists from Ty Dellandrea and Shakir Mukhamadullin. A few minutes later, the Golden Knights responded on a goal from Brett Howden to tie the game at one. Onto the second period, where Alexander Wennberg gave the Sharks the lead at around the seven-minute mark with a power-play goal, poking one in on a mostly empty net for his first of the season. William Eklund and John Klingberg assisted on the Wennberg goal, with the latter assist being Klingberg's first point as a Shark. Vegas had a response about seven and a half minutes later on their power play, this time coming via Pavel Dorofeyev to tie it at two.
Both teams looked pretty even through two periods of play, but the third period was when things became a lot more interesting. Early in the third period, Philipp Kurashev redirected a shot by Dmitry Orlov for his first goal in teal to put the Sharks back ahead 3-2. This initial shot was Orlov's first point as a Shark, while Shakir Mukhamadullin collected his second apple of the game on the go-ahead goal by Kurashev. Towards the end of regulation, the Sharks had a few perfect opportunities to score on the empty net to seal a victory but failed to do so each time. On the following drive by the Golden Knights, Jack Eichel sent one towards the net and the puck went in on a bad bounce to tie the game at three and send it to overtime. Things further spiraled downhill for the Sharks from there, as at around the 1:20 mark of OT, a misplay by Alex Nedeljkovic at the blue line led to Reilly Smith taking the puck all alone to the empty net and scoring to win it for Vegas. These were both wild and unbelievable sequences that occurred towards the end of this game that cost the Sharks in their season opener, and I was stunned when witnessing them live. Despite these gaffes towards the end of the game, Nedeljokic compiled 27 saves on 31 shots against in his Sharks regular-season debut.
It is also worth noting that former Shark Tomas Hertl, who is currently a Golden Knight, was penalized twice during this game: first for boarding Ty Dellandrea in the second period and second for an illegal check to the head of Jeff Skinner in the third period, resulting in somewhat shocking collective boos from all around the arena. It would have been nice to see Michael Misa and Sam Dickinson make their NHL debuts last night, but I completely understand why they were held out of the lineup to start the new season. In addition, I can almost guarantee that Yaroslav Askarov will start for the Sharks in net in their next game. Despite the crazy heartbreaking ending, this was a great and fun game to be at, and I would not have wanted to be anywhere else than at SAP Center for the Sharks season opener last night. I can now add the Golden Knights as the 11th club to my list of NHL teams I have seen play in person, and the Sharks now fall to 3-3-3 when I am at their games. Regular game reviews resume tomorrow following the Sharks' next game against the Anaheim Ducks at 7 pm PT.
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