In a brisk preseason finale at T-Mobile Arena, the San Jose Sharks handed the Vegas Golden Knights a 4-1 defeat, spotlighting forward Ethan Cardwell's breakout performance. Cardwell, the 22-year-old prospect, notched a hat trick—his three goals coming at pivotal moments that kept Vegas at bay throughout the night. Indeed, it was Cardwell who struck first, just under two minutes into the opening frame, setting a tone of Sharks dominance early on.
The Golden Knights, fresh off a mixed preseason slate, struggled to mount much offense against San Jose's opportunistic play. Egor Afanasyev added a power-play tally in the second period, pushing the lead to 2-0 and exposing Vegas's penalty-kill vulnerabilities. Then, in the third, Pavol Regenda buried the third goal, assisted by—yes, Cardwell again, who tallied four points overall. Vegas clawed back momentarily when Alexander Holtz slipped one past the Sharks' netminder 23 seconds later, but it felt like too little, too late. Cardwell sealed the win with an empty-netter, his third of the evening, as the clock wound down.
Regenda himself was a force, dishing out four assists and partnering seamlessly with Cardwell on the top line. For San Jose, this victory caps a preseason where they've shown flashes of the speed and grit needed to climb out of recent rebuild woes. However, the Golden Knights, with their Stanley Cup pedigree, will likely shrug this off as tune-up rust—though conceding four to a prospect-heavy Sharks squad raises quiet questions about depth. Cardwell's emergence, drafted 121st overall in 2021, underscores San Jose's patient prospect pipeline paying dividends at last.
Moreover, the game highlighted how preseason matchups can unearth surprises, like Cardwell's poise under the bright lights. As both teams pivot to the regular season grind, one can't help but ponder if this spark from the young Shark signals bigger things ahead for the Bay Area club.