Programming note: Watch the re-air of Game 3 of the first round of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs between the Sharks and Anaheim Ducks tonight at 8:00 p.m. PT on NBC Sports California.
Hate is a strong word.
But when it comes to Sharks fans and their relationship with the Vegas Golden Knights, it’s a pretty apt descriptor.
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When asked who San Jose’s biggest rival is in a Twitter poll, fans responded overwhelmingly in favor of the NHL’s newest organization.
While the game fans will see tonight on NBC Sports California features the Anaheim Ducks, the Golden Knights come away as the team's fiercest adversary.
Vegas first began play in the NHL to start the 2017-18 season, but have had plenty of run-ins with San Jose in that short span.
San Jose Sharks
The Golden Knights and Sharks have competed in 13 playoff games over the past two Stanley Cup Playoffs, and these postseason battles are the fuel behind the mutual dislike between fanbases.
Most notably, Game 7 of the 2019 first-round series in San Jose produced one of the NHL’s most improbable and controversial comebacks, as the Sharks rallied from a three-goal deficit in the third period to win in overtime.
But one year earlier, the Knights did get the best of the Sharks in the first postseason appearance in Vegas franchise history, finessing their way past the Sharks in six games in the 2018 playoffs.
Overall, including postseason contests, the two clubs have faced off 25 times, with Vegas winning 15 of the matchups. In addition to a pair of preseason games each season, the two have gone at it over 30 times in less than three full seasons. That amount of extreme familiarity has led to a handful of altercations.
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Former Sharks head coach Peter DeBoer even had a war of words with Golden Knights bench boss Gerard Gallant, which became especially ironic after Vegas hired DeBoer in February to replace Gallant.
Similar to their Bay Area counterpart Golden State Warriors and the boiling contention they have with the Houston Rockets after years of playoff battles, the Sharks and Golden Knights arguably have become the NHL’s most hateful rivalry due to the extensive recent postseason history.
Even after the coronavirus pause ceases, it’s hard to imagine the mutual vitriol dying down anytime soon.