Golden Knights Gameday #46: Tuch, Krebs Return: Lines, Notes, vs Sabres

The Vegas Golden Knights (26-16-3) will play their last game before the NHL’s 2022 All-Star break which will give the team five days off from game actions. The Golden Knights take on the Buffalo Sabres (14-23-7) Tuesday night at T-Mobile Arena. Four former Golden Knights will make their return to T-Mobile in Peyton Krebs, Alex Tuch, Cody Eakin, and Colin Miller. Most notably, Tuch and Krebs were dealt to the Sabres in the Jack Eichel blockbuster trade in early November.

Unfortunately, Eichel will not play against his former team, and neither will Alec Martinez, Zach Whitecloud, and potentially Nicolas Hague. Dylan Coghlan and Chandler Stephenson are also in COVID-19 protocols for the Golden Knights. Just when it looked like the team was about to turn the corner with injuries, they have once again been hit with bad luck.

Daniil Miromanov, Brayden Pachal, and Kaeden Korczak have been recalled from the Henderson Silver Knights and we could potentially see the NHL debut of either Korczak or Pachal, if not both.

For the Sabres, they are once again struggling, having less than 15 wins on the season, and are well out of a playoff spot. They are led in scoring by currently injured Tage Thompson who has 29 points in 40 games played. For comparison’s sake, Thompson would be tied for third on the Golden Knights scoring list. Former Golden Knight Tuch has fit in quite nicely with his hometown team with 12 points in 12 games played. Krebs has also scored his first three NHL goals.

Tuesday night at The Foretress will also be Lunar New Year celebration night.

Celebrating Lunar New Year at The Fortress tonight 😃 #VegasBorn pic.twitter.com/CbuLB9Txib

— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) February 1, 2022

Keys to the Game

Play a Simple Defensive Game With Everyone Hurt

If Hague does not end up playing, the Golden Knights will be without four of their regular six defensemen with the only two regulars being superstars Alex Pietrangelo and Shea Theodore. I guess if you had to pick these would be the two defensemen you would want to keep if you had to erase two-thirds of your defense. But the Golden Knights would much rather have their defense back.

The defensive game has been sharp for the Golden Knights as of late. The team has done a good job with breakout passes, clogging up the neutral zone, and generating rush chances for the forwards. But with more injuries on the back end, the Golden Knights will need to simplify their game with guys like Miromanov and Hutton playing increased minutes.

Don’t Play Down to the Sabres Level

The Sabres and Golden Knights are simply on two opposite sides of the spectrum in the NHL currently. The Golden Knights are looking for their first Stanley Cup in franchise history whereas the Sabres are once again rebuilding. For the Golden Knights, even with their depleted roster, this should be a victory for the Golden Knights on paper.

But no games are gimmes in the NHL and the Golden Knights will need to come out and execute from the first drop of the puck to the final buzzer. Maybe this is the night the Golden Knights pull a Florida Panthers and just torch a team 7-0.

Leave it All Out on the Ice- Another Break is Coming

With the All-Star Weekend approaching and the NHL’s original plan to go to the 2022 Winter Olympics still having an impact on the schedule, the Golden Knights will have a lot of time off in February. We saw the Golden Knights go through this in late December and early January as games were getting rescheduled and the Golden Knights once again need to take advantage of it.

Against an inferior opponent, the Golden Knights need to come out and beat the Sabres on home ice to welcome in the 2022 NHL All-Star Weekend which the team and the city of Las Vegas will host.

Projected Vegas Golden Knights Line Combinations

Max Pacioretty- Nolan Patrick – Mark Stone

Jonathan Marchessault- William Karlsson– Reilly Smith

Mattias Janmark- Nicolas Roy- Evgenii Dadonov

William Carrier- Brett Howden- Keegan Kolesar

Brayden McNabb- Alex Pietrangelo

Shea Theodore- Daniil Miromanov

Ben Hutton- Kaeden Korczak

Robin Lehner/Laurent Brossoit

Vegas Golden Knights Special Teams

19.83% Powerplay (16th) and 79.20% Penalty Kill (19th)

PP1: Patrick, Stone, Pacioretty, Dadonov, Theodore

PP2: Marchessault, Karlsson, Smith, Janmark, Pietrangelo

PK1: Karlsson, Smith, McNabb, Pietrangelo

PK2: Roy, Janmark, Hutton, Theodore

Injured Reserve/COVID-19 Protocols/Scratches/Taxi Squad

Jack Eichel (neck), Alec Martinez (face), Zach Whitecloud (back), Nicolas Hague (day-to-day), Chandler Stephenson (COVID), Dylan Coghlan (COVID)

Ben Hutton (scratched), Michael Amadio (scratched), Daniil Miromanov (scratched)

Projected Buffalo Sabres Line Combinations

Peyton Krebs- Casey Mittelstadt- Alex Tuch

Jeff Skinner- Dylan Cozens- Kyle Okposo

Anders Bjork- Cody Eakin- Victor Olofsson

Robert Hagg- Mark Jankowski- John Hayden

Rasmus Dahlin- Henri Jokiharju

Mattias Samuelsson- Casey Fitzgerald

Jacob Bryson- Mark Pysyk

Craig Anderson/Dustin Tokarski

Buffalo Sabres Special Teams

19.67% Powerplay (17th) and 75.21% Penalty Kill (26th)

PP1- Tuch, Krebs, Skinner, Mittelstadt, Dahlin

PP2- Eakin, Cozens, Okposo, Olofsson, Jokiharju

PK1- Eakin, Okposo, Fitzgerald, Jokiharju

PK2- Jankowski, Tuch, Hagg, Pysyk

Injured Reserve/COVID-19 Protocols/Scratches

Jack Quinn, Colin Miller, Vinnie Hinostroza, Drake Caggiula, Zemgus Girgensons, Tage Thompson, Rasmus Asplund (COVID)

How to Watch/Listen

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