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Golden Knights Gameday

Golden Knights Gameday 65: Yes, There is a Game Today- Lines, Notes, vs Wild

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Vegas Golden Knights Minnesota Wild AWAY

The Vegas Golden Knights (34-26-4, 72 points) still have a game to play tonight, on NHL Trade Deadline day and it is against the Minnesota Wild (36-20-4, 76 points), who now have Marc-Andre Fleury.

It has been a wild day as the NHL Trade Deadline has come and gone. Trades are still trickling in with Evgenii Dadonov reportedly on his way to the Anaheim Ducks per Emily Kaplan of ESPN.

More details on the Dadonov deal will come as they are available.

But pushing all of this aside the Golden Knights are looking for their third-straight win Monday night. This game will be the first of a two-game back-to-back road trip with the Golden Knights in Winnipeg on Tuesday.

Outside of the obvious departure of Dadonov, and also Derrick Pouliot going to the Seattle Kraken on waivers, no lineup chances are expected from the VGK. Jake Leschyshyn and Brayden Pachal, who were both recalled from the Henderson Silver Knights Sunday will likely both play.

The Golden Knights are looking for another big game out of Logan Thompson, who has started the last two games for the VGK and won both. He defeated both the Panthers and Kings with 30+ save performances in both games and has emerged as a legitimate goalie for the Golden Knights.

Keys to the Game

The Even More Evident Stretch Run

The time period leading up to the Stanley Cup Playoffs is always considered to be the “stretch run” where teams on the playoff bubble make or miss the playoffs. For the first time in team history, the Golden Knights are in danger of not making the playoffs and this should only motivate them, even more, to play better in the stretch run.

With the trade deadline over, it is now truly crunch time for playoff bubble teams. The Golden Knights have 18 games remaining on the season.

Take a Sigh of Relief

The festivities of the trade deadline being over also means that players rumored to be traded that were not traded are staying. The Vegas Golden Knights didn’t really have any players that were heavily involved in trade rumors outside of maybe Reilly Smith, who is injured. But even still, the pressure of the trade deadline and having your name on the market has passed for every member of the team. Now they can simply relax and focus on hockey with these distractions over with.

Take a Good Hard Look

Lastly, the trade deadline over means that this team, for better or for worse, is the team the Vegas Golden Knights will go with the rest of the season. Everyone in the locker room from Jack Eichel to Brayden Pachal needs to take a look at their surroundings and reassure themselves on what this team is made of. Because there is no going back to make moves for the Golden Knights.

Projected Vegas Golden Knights Line Combinations

William Karlsson- Jack Eichel- Jonathan Marchessault

William Carrier- Chandler Stephenson- Nicolas Roy

Mattias Janmark- Nolan Patrick- Michael Amadio

Jake Leschyshyn- Brett Howden- Keegan Kolesar

Ben Hutton- Alex Pietrangelo

Shea Theodore- Zach Whitecloud

Brayden Pachal- Dylan Coghlan

Logan Thompson/Laurent Brossoit

Vegas Golden Knights Special Teams

18.67% Powerplay (24th) and 78.74% Penalty Kill (17th)

PP1: Patrick, Stephenson, Marchessault, Karlsson, Theodore

PP2: Carrier, Kolesar, Roy, Coghlan, Pietrangelo

PK1: Karlsson, Roy, Pietrangelo, Coghlan

PK2: Stephenson, Leschyshyn, Theodore, Whitecloud

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

Alec Martinez (face), Mark Stone (back), Brayden McNabb (hand), Reilly Smith (knee), Robin Lehner (lower-body), Max Pacioretty (unknown), Nicolas Hague (unknown)

Projected Minnesota Wild Line Combinations

Kirill Kaprizov- Ryan Hartman- Matz Zuccarello

Kevin Fiala- Frederick Gaudreau- Matthew Boldy

Jordan Greenway- Joel Eriksson Ek- Marcus Foligno

Brandon Duhaime- Tyson Jost- Nicolaus Deslauriers

Jonas Brodin- Matt Dumba

Alex Goligoski- Jared Spurgeon

Jon Merrill- Dmitry Kulikov

Cam Talbot/Hunter Jones

Minnesota Wild Special Teams

19.78% Powerplay (19th) and 76.02% Penalty Kill (25th)

PP1- Zuccarello, Hartman, Kaprizov, Spurgeon, Goligoski

PP2- Fiala, Gaudreau, Boldy, Dumba, Brodin

PK1- Eriksson Ek, Foligno, Brodin, Dumba

PK2- Jost, Duhaime, Goligoski, Spurgeon

Injured Reserve/COVID-19 Protocols/Scratches

Marc-Andre Fleury (trade limbo)

How to Watch/Listen

5:00 pm on At&t Sportsnet, ESPN+, and Fox Sports 98.9 FM Radio.