The Vegas Golden Knights are off to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time since 2018. They eliminated the Dallas Stars on Monday night, but Dallas wasn't the only team on their mind.

After the game, the Golden Knights took aim at the San Jose Sharks on social media. The Sharks had openly jumped on the Stars bandwagon in the days preceding Game 6.

The Sharks, to their credit, responded to the jab by Vegas on Monday night. San Jose referenced an incident in the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs which saw the Sharks send the Golden Knights home in round one.

One reason the Sharks likely jumped on the Stars bandwagon is that they don't like Vegas. However, there is more to it than petty beef between division rivals. Longtime Sharks star Joe Pavelski currently plays for the Stars.

Pavelski is one of the greatest players to ever wear a Sharks sweater. The 38-year-old is fourth all-time in games played for the team with 963. Furthermore, he ranks second in goals (355), fourth in assists (406), and third in points (761) in Sharks history.

Pavelski played a key role in pushing the series between the Stars and Golden Knights to six games. He scored his ninth goal of the playoffs in Game 4, an overtime marker that forced a Game 5.

The 38-year-old didn't score in Game 5, but he did add an assist on a Jason Robertson goal in the second period. Dallas won that game 4-2 to force Monday night's Game 6.

The Sharks wanted to see a franchise icon do well and backed the Stars as a result. However, Vegas certainly wasn't going to waste an opportunity to fire back at a division rival.