Vegas @ San Jose preview

Last Meeting ( Apr 10, 2019 ) Vegas 2, San Jose 5

The San Jose Sharks doubled down on their offensive-minded defensemen by signing two-time Norris Trophy winner Erik Karlsson in the offseason, and the club was rewarded with two-point performances from three of its blue-liners in its playoff opener. The Sharks bid to continue their home dominance on Friday when they host the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 2 of their Western Conference first-round series.

Former Norris Trophy recipient Brent Burns scored his franchise-best 16th playoff goal by a defenseman and added an assist in Wednesday's 5-2 victory over Vegas to boost his postseason total to 45 points, which is three shy of Dan Boyle for the most in club history at the position. The 34-year-old Burns accepted both a feed and subsequent box-out from Karlsson before scoring a 3-on-3 goal after wiring a shot past Marc-Andre Fleury in the second period. Fleury, who had two shutouts en route to bouncing the Sharks in six games during last year's second-round series, allowed four goals on 32 shots while seeing five San Jose players register multi-point performances in the opener. "Definitely not the way we want to start a series," the three-time Stanley Cup-winning goaltender said. "I think we expected it was going to be intense and physical."

TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network, Sportsnet 360, TVAS2, AT&T SportsNet-Rocky Mountains, NBCS California (San Jose)

ABOUT THE GOLDEN KNIGHTS: Mark Stone scored twice in the opener for Vegas, but the coveted trade deadline acquisition felt that the onus belongs on the Golden Knights to play better after mustering just 10 shots through two periods. "I don't think it has anything to do with them (the Sharks)," the 26-year-old Stone said. "It's more to do with us. We've got to focus on our own game." Linemate Max Pacioretty notched two assists to lift his postseason total to 21 points (10 goals, 11 assists) in 39 career games.

ABOUT THE SHARKS: Captain Joe Pavelski said his first-period goal was the toughest one of his career, an admission that came after he lost a few teeth on Wednesday and before he sat in a dentist's chair on Thursday after Burns' shot hit him flush in the mouth before the puck crossed the goal line. Coach Peter DeBoer labeled the 34-year-old said as "a warrior" after the contest and told NBC Sports California that he "thinks he's going to be fine." Pavelski, whose team-leading 38 goals this season were his second-most in his career, had just one of his 45 playoff tallies in last year's second-round series loss to Vegas.

OVERTIME

1. San Jose D Marc-Edouard Vlasic recorded his fifth career multi-point performance in the postseason with a goal and an assist in Game 1 while Karlsson set up a pair of tallies for his eighth multi-assist effort in the playoffs.

2. Vegas C Paul Stastny collected his sixth point in five games with an assist on Stone's second-period goal on Wednesday.

3. The Sharks are 13-7 all-time when taking a 1-0 lead in a playoff series while the Golden Knights rebounded from their lone Game 1 loss to defeat Winnipeg in last year's Western Conference final.

PREDICTION: Golden Knights 3, Sharks 2