LAS VEGAS _ The San Jose Sharks entered Saturday's game against the Vegas Golden Knights looking to clinch a spot in the NHL playoffs.
Instead, the Sharks' playoff preparations were put on hold as the Golden Knights got a dazzling third period goal from William Karlsson to earn a 3-2 win and clinch the Pacific Division title in their first year of existence.
Karlsson's shorthanded goal, his 42nd of the season, came at the 8:35 mark of the third. Vegas now has 107 points, nine more than the Sharks as both teams still have three regular season games left to play.
A victory by the Sharks would have given them a spot in the postseason for the third straight year under coach Pete DeBoer.
The Sharks' three remaining games are all at home, starting with Tuesday's game against the Dallas Stars.
The Sharks and Golden Knights went into the second intermission tied at 2-2 after trading goals in the middle frame.
Marc-Edouard Vlasic tied the game at 9:50 by scoring his 11th on a delayed penalty. Vlasic chipped in a backhander after Joe Pavelski's blocked shot trickled out to him in the slot. Justin Braun also earned an assist on the play.
Oscar Lindberg put Vegas ahead 2-1 at 3:03, redirecting a Shea Theodore shot through goalie Martin Jones' five hole. The Golden Knights scored the goal by capitalizing on a soft play by Kevin Labanc, who fanned on an opportunity to clear the puck up the boards by swiping at it in lackadaisical manner.
The Pacific Division rivals were also tied after 20 minutes.
Pavelski made it a 1-1 game at 7:14 of the first, burying the rebound of a Timo Meier shot. Joonas Donskoi, who suited up for his first game since March 14 after missing eight straight games with a left-shoulder injury, set the play up, bringing the puck down the right wing and finding Meier for an open shot with a pass from below the goal line.
After the Sharks tilted the ice on the first four shifts of the game, the Golden Knights recorded the opening goal by scoring on their first shot. Theodore put the Golden Knights ahead at 2:21 of the first by firing in a shot from the point with a screen in front.
Jones kept it a tie game through 20 minutes by making several key stops.
He stopped Tomas Nosek with his right pad after Paul Martin coughed up the puck behind the Sharks net, giving the Golden Knights forward an open look near the front of the net. In the final minute of the period, he made another pad save on a shot from the doorstep, stoning forward Alex Tuch, who also hit the crossbar with an open net at 4:40 of the frame.
The 28-year-old goalie also bailed out Brent Burns with 5:12 left in the second when he turned the puck over to James Neal, sending him into the Sharks net all alone. Jones thwarted Neal's breakaway attempt by making a kick save with his right pad.
_The Golden Knights honored the 58 victims of the Oct. 1 shooting at Mandalay Bay, retiring the No. 58 by raising a banner with 58 stars into the rafters.
_Joe Thornton joined the Sharks (44-24-10) for the final game of their four-game road trip Saturday, skating at the team's morning practice in Las Vegas. The 38-year old didn't suit up for the last road game of the season, but he did spend a considerable amount of time on the ice after practice working with assistant coach Steve Spott. The veteran forward could be seen practicing his hard cuts and turns as he attempts to work his way back into the lineup after undergoing surgery on Jan. 25 to repair the medial collateral ligament in his right knee.
