Golden Knights report: Forward placed on injured reserve
Golden Knights vs. Sharks
RJ’s three stars
3. Knights center William Karlsson — He picked up two assists, including one off an excellent touch pass in the third period. It was his sixth two-point game overall and first since Feb. 8 against Edmonton.
2. Knights left wing Jonathan Marchessault — He got two assists after an excellent passing performance. He has one goal and four assists in his past four games.
1. Knights right wing Reilly Smith — He scored twice to give him 16 goals, the second-most on the team. It was his second two-goal game this season. His first came Nov. 9 against Seattle.
Key play
Smith’s second goal.
It wasn’t the Knights’ most important tally of the night, but it was the most creative. Marchessault got the puck along the wall from Smith before skating to the middle of the offensive blue line. He spun and fired a long distance from the net.
Karlsson, positioned in the slot, deflected the puck ever so slightly past two Sharks defenders and to Smith in front of the crease. Smith tapped the feed past goaltender Zachary Sawchenko to give the Knights a 3-1 lead 4:45 into the third period.
The puck was off Marchessault’s stick and into the net in about a second. The play showed Marchessault, Karlsson and Smith are still finding new ways to score after five seasons together.
Key stat
11 — The Knights’ winning streak against the Sharks.
They haven’t lost to San Jose since Nov. 21, 2019, in overtime. Their record of 18-1-3 against the Sharks is their third-best against any opponent, below Vancouver (9-0-2) and Seattle (2-0-0).
Janmark goes on IR
The Knights placed left wing Mattias Janmark on injured reserve before Tuesday’s game.
Janmark suffered an upper-body injury in Friday’s 3-1 loss to the Arizona Coyotes and didn’t play in the third period. Coach Pete DeBoer said Monday he wouldn’t call Janmark and left wing Max Pacioretty, who suffered a lower-body injury in the same game, close to returning.
Janmark has seven goals and 10 assists in 47 games.
Rondbjerg returns
Left wing Jonas Rondbjerg played his 17th NHL game and second in a row Tuesday.
The 22-year-old rookie has two goals and two assists with the Knights. He got an extended look earlier in the season because of injuries, and he’s trying to apply some of the things he learned about the NHL game to his latest stint.
“You have to think the game faster,” said Rondbjerg, a third-round pick in 2017. “You have to make quicker decisions. Guys are on you a lot faster. You got to adapt to that a little bit again, and that’ll be all good.”
Knights’ next 10
Vs. Boston, 6 p.m. Thursday
At Anaheim, 7 p.m. Friday
Vs. Ottawa, 5 p.m. Sunday
At Philadelphia, 4 p.m. Tuesday
At Buffalo, 4 p.m. March 10
At Pittsburgh, 4 p.m. March 11
At Columbus, 3 p.m. March 13
At Winnipeg, 5 p.m. March 15
Vs. Florida, 7:30 p.m. March 17
Vs. Los Angeles, 1 p.m. March 19
Contact Ben Gotz at bgotz@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BenSGotz on Twitter.
