Golden Knights Gameday #50: Final Makeup Game, Notes, vs Kings

The Vegas Golden Knights (28-18-3) need a win tonight. It is as plain and simple as that. They are in danger of losing their third-straight game and are slipping in the Pacific Division standings. They take on the Los Angeles Kings (24-17-7) Friday night at T-Mobile Arena for a crucial four-point game.

No lineup changes are expected for the Golden Knights outside of the likely absence of Nolan Patrick. Nathan Mackinnon caught Patrick with an elbow to the head in the Golden Knights Wednesday loss.

Keegan Kolesar will likely draw back into the lineup after being a healthy scratch for the first time last game. Head coach Peter DeBoer will also likely put the Misfit Line back together after he experimented by separating the trio and giving Mattias Janmark a shot on the second line.

Jack Eichel will play in his second ever game with the Golden Knights. In his debut and return from injury Eichel was not all that noticeable. He took two penalties, had just one shot on goal, and played just over 17 and a half minutes. This was expected as he had missed nearly a year due to injury.

Keys to the Game

Score First (And Just Score in General)

The Golden Knights have not scored a goal since last Tuesday’s game against the Edmonton Oilers. This accounts for 139:46 of in-game time. They have been shutout in back-to-back games for the first time in franchise history by Jakob Markstrom and Darcy Kuemper.

Getting a goal overall will be a step in the right direction for the team. But for the best chances of success, they need to score early and get this drought over with as soon as possible. The Kings’ starting goaltender could be either Cal Petersen or Jonathan Quick given that this is their first game of a back-to-back.

Don’t Get Frustrated

Not scoring in two games can certainly get to a group mentality. For the Golden Knights, we saw a bit of that frustration come out against the Colorado Avalanche. William Carrier in particular got into a couple of scrums in front of the net and was lucky to not be penalized.

Up against known agitators in Brendan Lemieux, and even Drew Doughty the Golden Knights need to keep their cool against this Pacific Division rival.

Motivation to Win

With the way that the Pacific Division is shaking up as teams enter the stretch run the Golden Knights simply cannot afford to lose this one. The Kings, who have a game in hand against the VGK, are one of four teams in the Pacific Division standings that are just four points removed from the Golden Knights.

The Calgary Flames have won eight straight games. The Edmonton Oilers have won four straight, and the Kings, Anaheim Ducks, and even Vancouver Canucks could all challenge the VGK for a playoff spot.

Projected Vegas Golden Knights Line Combinations

Max Pacioretty- Jack Eichel– Chandler Stephenson

Jonathan Marchessault- William Karlsson– Reilly Smith

Mattias Janmark- Nicolas Roy- Evgenii Dadonov

William Carrier- Brett Howden- Keegan Kolesar

Nicolas Hague- Alex Pietrangelo

Brayden McNabb- Shea Theodore

Ben Hutton- Dylan Coghlan

Laurent Brossoit/Logan Thompson

Vegas Golden Knights Special Teams

19.20% Powerplay (20th) and 79.26% Penalty Kill (18th)

PP1: Pacioretty, Dadonov, Stephenson, Eichel, Theodore

PP2: Roy, Smith, Karlsson, Marchessault Pietrangelo

PK1: Karlsson, Smith, McNabb, Pietrangelo

PK2: Roy, Janmark, Hague, Theodore

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

Mark Stone (back), Robin Lehner (upper-body), Alec Martinez (face), Zach Whitecloud (foot), Nolan Patrick (head), Michael Amadio (scratched)

Projected Los Angeles Kings Line Combinations

Alex Iafallo- Anze Kopitar- Adrian Kempe

Trevor Moore- Phillip Danault- Viktor Arvidsson

Andreas Athanasiou- Quinton Byfield- Dustin Brown

Brendan Lemieux- Blake Lizotte- Arthur Kaliyev

Mikey Anderson- Drew Doughty

Olli Maatta- Matt Roy

Tobias Bjornfot- Sean Durzi

Jonathan Quick/Cal Petersen

Los Angeles Kings Special Teams

15.79% Powerplay (29th) and 74.24% Penalty Kill (29th)

PP1- Brown, Iafallo, Kopitar, Doughty, Kempe

PP2- Arvidsson, Athanasiou, Kalieyv, Durzi, Danault

PK1- Kopitar, Iafallo, Anderson, Doughty

PK2- Danault, Moore, Maatta, Roy

Injured Reserve/COVID-19 Protocols/Scratches

Sean Walker, Alex Edler, Martin Frk (COVID), Christian Wolanin (COVID).

How to Watch/Listen

7:00 pm on ESPN+ Fox Sports 98.9 FM Radio