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Golden Knights Gameday

Golden Knights Gameday 74: Finish Them! Lines, Notes vs Canucks

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Vegas Golden Knights Vancouver Canucks AWAY

This morning I was driving and I watched as an Audi got dangerously close to the rear of another car. One little break check could have caused a serious accident but Mr. Audi had to ride the rear of the other car. I imagine this is what the playoff race in the NHL’s Western Conference feels like.

Teams are constantly breathing over each other’s shoulders, hungry for a playoff spot. The Vegas Golden Knights (40-29-4, 84 points) are currently being chased by the Vancouver Canucks (35-28-10, 80 points). They have a chance to do some serious damage to their playoff odds Tuesday night in Vancouver.

Things are looking up for the Golden Knights though. Despite the Dallas Stars and Nashville Predators continuing to collect points, the Los Angeles Kings are fading and the third spot in the Pacific Division is up for grabs.

The Golden Knights trail the Kings by just two points and have a game at hand. Drew Doughty is also out for the rest of the season for the Kings. Only one game was on last night so yesterdays’ playoff odds are still accurate.

Speaking of injuries, there is a chance Mark Stone returns for the Golden Knights tonight. With what cap space, I don’t know. Due to the voided Evgenii Dadonov trade, the Golden Knights need to clear roughly $4.5 million to activate Stone from LTIR.

For the Canucks Quinn Hughes is back, but Tanner Pearson and Brock Boeser are unavailable.

Keys to The Game

1- Stretch Run Goaltending

My keys to the game here are very simple, which is the kind of game the Golden Knights have to play.

I wrote a full-length piece on how goaltending could make or break the Golden Knight’s playoff push. Robin Lehner has the net for the time being and needs to perform exceptionally if the VGK want to sneak into the playoffs. Logan Thompson has proven to be a solid young backup option.

2- Depth Scoring

In their win over the Arizona Coyotes, the Golden Knights got scoring from six different players. Brayden McNabb and Jake Leschyshyn were even able to get in on the action. Getting scoring from all areas of the ice will be a huge key to success if the Golden Knights are able to do it against the Canucks.

3- The Powerplay

The Golden Knights have struggled recently on their powerplay and have gone 0 for their last 15. It doesn’t take a genius to say that they need to revive this dead man advantage. With Pacioretty and potentially Stone back in the lineup, their injection may do the trick.

Projected Vegas Golden Knights Line Combinations

Evgenii Dadonov- Jack Eichel- Nicolas Roy

Max Pacioretty- Chandler Stephenson- Mark Stone

Jonathan Marchessault- William Karlsson- Mattias Janmark

Michael Amadio- Jake Leschyshyn- Keegan Kolesar

Ben Hutton- Alex Pietrangelo

Brayden McNabb- Shea Theodore

Alec Martinez- Zach Whitecloud

Robin Lehner/Logan Thompson

Vegas Golden Knights Special Teams

17.80% Powerplay (24th) and 78.13% Penalty Kill (20th)

PP1: Pacioretty, Eichel, Dadonov, Marchessault, Theodore

PP2: Janmark, Karlsson, Roy, Stephenson, Pietrangelo

PK1: Karlsson, Janmark, McNabb, Pietrangelo

PK2: Stephenson, Roy, Martinez, Whitecloud

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

Mark Stone (back), Reilly Smith (knee), Laurent Brossoit (undisclosed), Nicolas Hague (lower-body), Brett Howden (upper-body), William Carrier (lower-body), Nolan Patrick (undisclosed), Dylan Coghlan (scratched), Jonas Rondbjerg (scratched)

Projected Vancouver Canucks Line Combinations

Elias Pettersson- Bo Horvat- Conor Garland

Vasily Podkolzin- JT Miller- Alex Chiasson

Nic Petan- Juho Lammikko- Will Lockwood

Sheldon Dries- Brad Richardson- Kyle Burroughs

Oliver Ekman-Larsson- Tyler Myers

Quinn Hughes- Luke Schenn

Travis Dermott- Brad Hunt

Thatcher Demko/Jaroslav Halak

Vancouver Canucks Special Teams

22.32% Powerplay (11th) and 73.79% Penalty Kill (30th)

PP1- Chiasson, Horvat, Pettersson, Miller, Hughes

PP2- Podkolzin, Petan, Garland, Ekman-Larsson, Hunt

PK- Richardson, Lammiko, Dermott, Myers

PK2- Horvat, Pettersson, Schenn, Poolman

Injured Reserve/COVID-19 Protocols/Scratches

Brandon Sutter, Nils Hoglander, Tanner Pearson, Brock Boeser

How to Watch/Listen

7:00 pm on At&t Sportsnet, ESPN+, and Fox Sports 98.9 FM Radio.