Howden scores twice as Golden Knights win 7-3 and hand Sharks ninth straight loss

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Vegas Golden Knights center Brett Howden (21), left, celebrates with left wing Pavel Dorofeyev (16) after scoring a goal against the San Jose Sharks during the first period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Lucas Peltier)

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Vegas Golden Knights center William Karlsson (71) celebrates with left wing Tanner Pearson (70) after scoring a goal against the San Jose Sharks during the second period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Lucas Peltier)

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Vegas Golden Knights celebrate after scoring against the San Jose Sharks during the first period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Lucas Peltier)

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Vegas Golden Knights center Jack Eichel (9) skates with the puck against the San Jose Sharks during the first period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Lucas Peltier)

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CORRECTS NAME OF SHARKS PLAYER TO WILLIAM EKLUND FROM MACKLIN CELEBRINI - San Jose Sharks left wing William Eklund (72) battles for the puck against Vegas Golden Knights right wing Mark Stone (61) during the first period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Lucas Peltier)

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Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Zach Whitecloud (2) skates against the San Jose Sharks during the first period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Lucas Peltier)

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Vegas Golden Knights center Jack Eichel (9) attempts to score against San Jose Sharks goaltender Vitek Vanecek (41) during the second period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Lucas Peltier)

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Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Shea Theodore skates against the San Jose Sharks during the first period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Lucas Peltier)

By W.G. RAMIREZ

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Brett Howden scored twice, Mark Stone had a goal and two assists and the Vegas Golden Knights beat the winless San Jose Sharks 7-3 on Saturday night.

William Karlsson, who missed the first eight games with an undisclosed injury, had a goal and an assist in his season debut for Vegas. Tanner Pearson, Jack Eichel and Pavel Dorofeyev also scored for the Golden Knights, and Ilya Samsonov made 24 saves.

Mikael Granlund, Nico Sturm and Luke Kunin scored for San Jose while Vitek Vanecek made 35 saves.

Takeaways

San Jose: The Sharks became the first team in NHL history to go winless in its first nine games in consecutives seasons. Per Stathead, only 10 teams have opened the season winless after 10 games, including last year’s Sharks team that didn’t get its first win until its 12th game.

Vegas: For the first time in his 12-year career, Tomas Hertl stepped in for an opening puck drop against the Sharks. Hertl spent 11 seasons in San Jose before being traded last March. Hertl finished with two assists, stretching his point streak to three games (3 goals, 4 assists).

Key Moment

After Granlund’s goal pulled the Sharks to 3-1 in the second period, Vanecek gave the Knights back their momentum when he raced out of his crease for the puck. But as he dove for it, Karlsson beat him to the poke, then retrieved the puck, skated back around, and buried it to restore the three-goal lead midway through the period.

Not PARSE.LY: Vegas Golden Knights

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Key Stat

Howden became the 13th Golden Knights player to record a multi-point game this season when he scored his second goal of the game. Karlsson became the 12th when he scored his goal earlier in the game.

Up Next

The Golden Knights host Calgary on Monday, while the Sharks play at Utah.

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL