Hill and Thompson look good in net, as Vegas is shut out in its fifth preseason game.

LAS VEGAS – The Vegas Golden Knights suffered a 2-0 loss in their fifth preseason game against the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday at T-Mobile Arena.

There weren’t any clear offensive threats or clear-cut playmakers, as most of the team’s roster was made up of recently waived or players assigned to Henderson of the American Hockey League.

“There were not a lot of veterans in the lineup,” Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy said. “You’re playing with guys that aren't going to drive a line for you and help you.”

Adin Hill made 14 saves, while Logan Thompson had 21.

The Golden Knights hosts Colorado Avalanche on Thursday at T-Mobile Arena.

Hill, Thompson look ready

Hill and Thompson split the game relatively evenly with Hill getting the first 30 minutes. This is how it will likely shape out pending a drastic shift in performance with Hill starting the first few games and Thompson spelling him when the schedule calls for it.

Either way, both looked game-ready for the regular season against San Jose.

“They played well,” Cassidy said. “If you’re going to take something out of this game tonight, that’s it. Both of them getting a fair amount of work and getting action in front of the net."

Nobody is grabbing the vacant spot

Of the four competing for the job on the William Karlsson’s left wing, none are taking advantage of the opportunities placed in front them.

Cassidy said Monday that it’s likely a committee will fill the left-wing role unless one separates himself from the pack.

None did anything to stand out in the game against the Sharks, keeping the competition wide open.

It’s easy to look at Brendan Brisson and say his goals put him ahead of the others, but naturally there are more aspects to the game and external factors – mostly he’s waiver ineligible – that will likely keep Brisson in Henderson.

Max Comtois hasn’t played with any NHL-caliber players in the preseason, so it’s unclear what he has to offer.

Paul Cotter and Pavel Dorofeyev have shown flashes of brilliance, but it’s been only seen a handful of times.

In the game against the Sharks, Cassidy noticed Cotter more than Dorofeyev.

“[Dorofeyev] needs to be better in this situation,” Cassidy said. “Paul Cotter, I thought the effort was there. He got going and tried to be physical and impact the game.”

Fourth line sets tone

The fourth line of Nicolas Roy, William Carrier and Keegan Kolesar set the tone for most of the game. The Golden Knights played a heavy and physical game against the Sharks, and much of that can be credited to the fourth line acting as the team’s first line on this night.

The fourth line has been counted on to start several games for Cassidy last season, and it’s a trend that will likely continue this season.

“We're just trying to get the game shape going here and. We played all year together,” Carrier said. “We had a couple of Grade A [chances] here. We to put our head down and very low. I like the way we played tonight.”

The issue with the fourth line is consistent scoring. But that’s not the role of the line, the role of the line is do exactly what it did against the Sharks – set a physical tone and get the team going in the right direction.

Carrier said they could have done a better job, however, at setting the tone against the Sharks.

“We can always play more physical. There’s a lot of minutes out there for us, so maybe you can’t finish hits like we’re used to,” Carrier said.

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