San Jose Sharks vs. Vegas Golden Knights Prediction, Preview, Picks & Odds - 4/24/2022

Time: 10 p.m. ET

Venue: T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, NV

Where to watch: AT&T SportsNet-Rocky Mountain, NBC Sports California

DraftKings: Check back later

BetMGM: Check back later

Caesars: Check back later

Sharks: 31-35-12

Golden Knights: 42-31-5

Destiny is in the Vegas Golden Knights’ hands. Four games left, win them all, and you’re somehow, someway, miraculously going to the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the fifth consecutive year. And given the ridiculous amount of hoopla that has surfaced in Vegas over the past week alone, buckle up because it’s going to be a bumpy ride.

Where do we even begin? Because the San Jose Sharks, unfortunately, aren’t even the topic of conversation at this point and have no business being mentioned. But they are the first of four teams Vegas needs to beat in order to get to the playoffs, so we’ll oblige.

But man alive, this drama with Robin Lehner is something. He gets pulled after one period after getting the start Wednesday, the Golden Knights go on to win 4-3 in overtime over the Washington Capitals, and now we are here trying to figure out if the man is getting surgery or if he isn’t.

Nevertheless, it does appear to be Logan Thompson’s net going forward, and it makes sense. Had it not been for his calming presence, the Golden Knights wouldn’t be in this position to get back into the playoffs and I can’t envision any scenario that says otherwise.

"We know the reality of the situation right now," Vegas defenseman Alec Martinez said. "Our back is against the wall. These are must-win hockey games. Obviously, to get a win tonight and get those two points is huge, but really proud of the way the guys handled everything. We had some adversity throughout the game. It was a little bit back and forth, but it feels good.

Lehner was deemed healthy, fresh and full of energy after the game Wednesday, and then the next night he’s reportedly getting season-ending surgery. Then there’s the team putting out statements that he’s having a maintenance day, which who the hell does that? And now we’re expecting the man to be dressed on Sunday? What the hell is going on? It’s beyond stupid at this point.

"We pay him to start games like this," DeBoer said Wednesday night. "It's the most important time of the year. He's healthy, he's fresh, he has a lot of energy, and we need him at this point of the year."

Well, they’re going to pay him to do something on Sunday and it ain’t start. The Golden Knights are four points behind the Dallas Stars and Nashville Predators for both wild-card positions. Vegas will be in Dallas on Tuesday, but the Golden Knights need a win on Sunday to establish a potential win-or-go-home situation. A regulation win by Vegas would give them the tiebreaker over Dallas with two games remaining.

Nashville’s schedule is also a pain down the stretch, including a Sunday back-to-back against the Minnesota Wild at home.

“I think it just depends on the day and the situation,” DeBoer said. “I think LT’s done a great job when he’s come in. I think every decision we’re making right now is with a Game 7 mentality. We’ve gotta win and we’re rolling out that lineup. We’re making those personnel decisions, we’re making those in-game decisions based on Game 7 mentality.

The Sharks are coming off a 4-1 win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday.

"I think we were okay, we found a way to win," Sharks captain Logan Couture said. "First period, our first 10 minutes were really good. Then we got away from our game a bit, gave them a few too many opportunities. We turned pucks over ... but found some goals in the second [period] kind of off of broken plays, and then we shut it down in the third. Pretty good."

Distraction or not, I think that locker room wants to win and wants to get into the playoffs. If they don’t win, we can all agree they’re ready to hit the golf course. Vegas in a rout. Golden Knights win 5-2

Sharks are 1-9 in April this season and 6-19 the past three seasons.

Sharks are 12-20 this season after losing four or five of their last six.

Golden Knights are 16-9 against division opponents this season.

Golden Knights are 41-14 the past three seasons after allowing 3 goals or more in two straight games.

Sharks:

Timo Meier -- Tomas Hertl -- Alexander Barabanov

Nick Bonino -- Logan Couture -- Matt Nieto

Rudolfs Balcers -- Thomas Bordeleau -- Noah Gregor

Scott Reedy -- Sasha Chmelevski -- Jasper Weatherby

Mario Ferraro -- Brent Burns

Jaycob Megna -- Nicolas Meloche

Marc-Edouard Vlasic -- Ryan Merkley

James Reimer

Golden Knights:

Jonathan Marchessault -- Jack Eichel -- Mark Stone

Max Pacioretty -- Chandler Stephenson -- Evgenii Dadonov

Mattias Janmark -- William Karlsson -- Michael Amadio

Jake Leschyshyn -- Nicolas Roy -- Keegan Kolesar

Brayden McNabb -- Shea Theodore

Ben Hutton -- Alex Pietrangelo

Alec Martinez -- Zach Whitecloud

Logan Thompson

Points: Timo Meier -- 75

Goals: Timo Meier -- 34

Assists: Brent Burns -- 42

Goalie: James Reimer -- 18-17-9, 2.83 GAA, .913 SV%

Points: Jonathan Marchessault -- 64

Goals: Jonathan Marchessault -- 29

Assists: Chandler Stephenson -- 40

Goalie: Logan Thompson -- 9-5-0, 2.56 GAA, .920 SV%