There’s a dark-horse rookie making his case for a spot on the San Jose Sharks’ roster. Danil Gushchin is hoping to survive tomorrow’s looming roster cuts and a hat trick tonight against the Vegas Golden Knights ought to do it for him. The hat trick is just the third-ever preseason hat trick scored in Vegas’ history, with the first two being scored by Golden Knights players.
The first goal came on the power play a little over five minutes into the second period to put the Sharks up 2-1. The middle frame was loaded with goals, and with about four minutes left, Gushchin struck again, this time extending the Sharks’ lead 5-2.