Sharks fans awestruck as Alex Nedeljkovic's mishap delivers San Jose a gutting OT loss: "Did Vegas like pay off him or something?"

Sharks fans were left stunned after goalie Alex Nedeljkovic’s error led to a crushing overtime loss for San Jose on Thursday.

With the game tied 3-3 in regulation, just 1:24 into overtime, Nedeljkovic moved near the neutral zone to block a pass while out of position. Shea Theodore then got the puck ahead to Reilly Smith, who slid it into the empty net to secure a 4-3 win for the Vegas Golden Knights.

Fans flocked to social media to react to Nedeljkovic’s costly mistake. One fan sarcastically questioned,

"so did Vegas like pay off nedeljkovic or something?? there is no other reasonable explanation for TWO R*****ED PLAYS IN A ROW"

kebab

@kingkomez

@SanJoseSharks @SAP so did Vegas like pay off nedeljkovic or something?? there is no other reasonable explanation for TWO RETARDED PLAYS IN A ROW

Another fan wrote,

"He saw his anytime goal scorer odds and tried to be a hero"

Bradley Bayer

@bradleyjbayer

@Comp4SB @BR_OpenIce He saw his anytime goal scorer odds and tried to be a hero 💔🥀

Here are some more fan reactions:

"i dont understand what ned was tryna accomplish here we lose in the most sharks fashion possible" one fan wrote.

"Have Ned squat in the net with no padding and helmet during full force warmups. That’ll put the fear of god into him." another fan wrote.

"This is the kind of puck aggression I'd expect from asky... But Ned???? Wtf are u doing." a user commented.

"As a sharks fan, send this bum up to orbit in the next rocket launch! WTF was THAT!" another user wrote.

For the Sharks, Jeff Skinner, Alexander Wennberg, and Philipp Kurashev scored, while Pavel Dorofeyev, Brett Howden, and Jack Eichel found the back of the net for Vegas. Akira Schmid made 20 saves, and Nedeljkovic stopped 27 shots in the loss.

San Jose Sharks lose 4-3 in OT against Vegas Golden Knights

Skinner gave the Sharks a 1-0 lead at 5:31 of the first after chipping in a rebound off Ty Dellandrea’s shot. Howden tied it 1-1 at 8:09, scoring around Nedeljkovic’s right pad.

Wennberg put San Jose ahead 2-1 on a 5-on-3 power-play goal at 6:59 of the second, tapping in a rebound from Eklund’s shot. Dorofeyev evened it 2-2 at 14:22 with a power-play one-timer from a Stone pass.

Kurashev made it 3-2 for the Sharks at 2:59 of the third by deflecting Orlov’s slap shot. Eichel tied it 3-3 for Vegas at 18:26 into an empty net with a dump-in that bounced awkwardly past Nedeljkovic.