‘I’ve got to work on fielding pop flies’: Sharks’ Alex Nedeljkovic after gaffes lead to loss

A couple of egregious errors led to a wild finish in the Golden State.

It looked as if the Vegas Golden Knights were going to end up on the wrong end of a decision against the rebuilding San Jose Sharks on Thursday night. The Sharks had a couple of chances to ice the game with an empty-net goal. However, San Jose failed to score, leading to Golden Knights forward Jack Eichel flipping the puck toward the Sharks’ goal from center ice. Somehow, it bounced by Sharks goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic to tie the game at three.

In the ensuing overtime, Nedeljkovic came way out of his net to play the puck, but the usually sure-handed passer put the puck off Vegas’ Reilly Smith. Shea Theodore then held the puck in San Jose’s zone, pushing it ahead to Smith, who slid the biscuit into the empty cage to give the Golden Knights an improbable 4-3 win.

Even after a disastrous end to the team’s first game of the season, Nedeljkovic faced the noise, even making a joke to reporters on what he needs to work on.

“Gotta find a way to move on somehow,” Nedeljkovic told reporters. “Go back, get back at it tomorrow, work on fielding pop flies and whatnot like that in practice.”

Veteran forward Jeff Skinner came to the aid of his netminder, assuring the team’s confidence in Nedeljkovic’s ability to play the puck.

“Crazy bounce [on tying goal],” Skinner said. “And again, it’s a 2-on-0, if he doesn’t come out there [in OT]. “I like to take his chances to try and spring our guys on the 2-on-0, and we try and win the game in overtime. He’s probably not going to feel great, but I think he’s old enough, he’s been around long enough, he’s confident in his abilities, and we’re confident in him, too.”

The 29-year-old has been known to move the puck on a consistent basis, with relative success as well. Last January, ‘Ned’ became the first goalie in NHL history to pick up a goal and an assist in a single game, doing so with the Pittsburgh Penguins against the Buffalo Sabres.

Nedeljkovic is entering his first season with the Sharks. He was traded to San Jose by the Penguins on July 1 in exchange for a 2028 draft pick.