Golden Knights Gameday #26: Falling Flyers: Lines, Notes vs Flyers

The Vegas Golden Knights (15-10) have a prime opportunity to extend their winning streak to four games Friday night as they take on the Philadelphia Flyers (8-12-4) at home. The Golden Knights are 8-2-0 in their last ten home games and the Flyers are 0-8-2 in their last ten games.

Chandler Stephenson will not play tonight for the Golden Knights due to personal reasons. The team will likely rely on Nicolas Roy as the makeshift first-line center with Mark Stone and Max Pacioretty. Robin Lehner versus Carter Hart is the anticipated goaltending matchup. It also looks like Ben Hutton will return to the lineup replacing Dylan Coghlan and he will be paired up with Shea Theodore.

Former Flyer Nolan Patrick will not get a chance to play against his old club as he remains on the IR. He once again skated in a red no-contact jersey during the morning skate at City National Arena.

However, one player will get to play against his former team in Patrick Brown who was claimed on waivers by the Flyers in October. Brown played only five games for the Golden Knights but scored in his first NHL game against the Minnesota Wild on May 20, 2021.

The Flyers, who recently fired their head coach in Alain Vigneault, have been struggling this season. They are led in scoring by captain Claude Giroux who has 21 points in 24 games this season. Similar to the other night’s game against the Arizona Coyotes, the Golden Knights cannot afford to play down to the level of the Flyers. The Flyer’s defense and goaltending have been atrocious as of late and the Golden Knights will look to pounce on that as an opportunity.

“You know I think obviously they are going to be a hungry team. It doesn’t matter who you are playing in this league, every team is incredibly good. We have to focus on what we can do and stick to our game, play a full sixty minutes and do the things we do right,” said Golden Knights defenseman Zach Whitecloud.

The Golden Knights have been getting great contributions from their top veteran players. Alex Pietrangelo had yet another incredible game against the Dallas Stars notching two assists. Since returning from injury, Stone and Pacioretty have been stellar with both scoring in the comeback victory against the Stars. Expect another energetic game from these three and more #ExpressiveMarkStone.

Roy will get the task of centering Pacioretty and Stone and has been an all-around great player for the Golden Knights this season. Having forward depth with guys like Roy, Adam Brooks, Keegan Kolesar, and Brett Howden, Michael Amadio who can all play center is something Peter DeBoer has that other teams lack.

“With the injuries, what we have been able to do with a couple of extra guys is move some guys in and out, put some fresh legs in, and reward guys for playing well, and have guys take a step back if they slip a little bit and reset,” said Golden Knights head coach Peter DeBoer on his lineup depth.

PROJECTED VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS LINES

(Updated to during pregame warmups)

Offense

Max Pacioretty- Keegan Kolesar- Mark Stone

Jonathan Marchessault- William Karlsson- Reilly Smith

Mattias Janmark– Nicolas Roy- Evgenii Dadonov

William Carrier- Adam Brooks- Michael Amadio

Defense

Nicolas Hague– Alex Pietrangelo

Brayden McNabb- Zach Whitecloud

Ben Hutton- Shea Theodore

Goalie

Laurent Brossoit/Robin Lehner

Vegas Golden Knights Special Teams

Special Teams: 13.56% Powerplay (30th) and 80.28% Penalty Kill (21st).

PP1: Stone, Brooks, Dadonov, Theodore, Pacioretty

PP2: Smith, Karlsson, Marchessault, Roy, Pietrangelo

PK1: Roy, Smith, McNabb, Pietrangelo

PK2: Howden, Janmark, Hague, Hutton

Injured Reserve

Jack Eichel, Nolan Patrick, Alec Martinez, Chandler Stephenson*

PROJECTED PHILADELPHIA FLYERS LINES PER PUCKPEDIA

Offense

Scott Laughton- Sean Couturier- Travis Konecny

Morgan Frost- Claude Giroux- Cam Atkinson

Maxwell Willman- Kevin Hayes- James van Riemsdyk

Oskar Lindblom- Patrick Brown- Zack Macewen

Defense

Ivan Provorov- Justin Braun

Travis Sanheim- Rasmus Ristolainen

Keith Yandle- Kevin Connauton

Goalie

Carter Hart/Martin Jones

Philadelphia Flyers Special Teams

13.89% Powerplay (29th) and 79.22% Penalty Kill (22nd)

PP1: van Riemsdyk, Konecny, Couturier, Giroux, Yandle

PP2: Lindblom, Hayes, Atkinson, Frost, Provorov

PK1: Couturier, Atkinson, Provorov, Braun

PK2: Laughton, Brown, Sanheim, Ristolainen

Injured Reserve

Samuel Morin, Ryan Ellis, Joel Farabee

How to Watch/Listen: 7:00 pm on ESPN+ and Fox Sports 98.9 FM.