Golden Knights Gameday 79: Lehner To Dress: Lines, Notes vs Sharks

The Vegas Golden Knights (42-31-5, 89 points) will play their final home game of the regular season against the San Jose Sharks (31-35-14, 74 points) Sunday night at 7:00 pm. The Golden Knights are hanging on by a thread in the Western Conference playoff picture.

With the Dallas Stars and Los Angeles Kings both winning on Saturday night a loss against the Sharks would likely put the dagger in the playoff odds for the Golden Knights.

In terms of lineup changes, William Carrier has returned to team practices and Jake Leschyshyn has been sent back down to the Henderson Silver Knights. Carrier will likely return Sunday. With what cap space, I do not know.

The other major story currently surrounding the Golden Knights is yet another goalie controversy. Reports came in Friday of Robin Lehner having season-ending surgery. These reports were shut down by head coach Peter DeBoer however Lehner has missed the last three practices.

The Golden Knights released an official statement Saturday on the status of Lehner.

Keys to the Game

Go-to Goalie

Pushing all this drama aside, whoever ends up getting the start for the Golden Knights Sunday needs to play to the best of their ability. Another controversial story surrounding Robin Lehner is the last thing this team needs as they are preoccupied with making the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Thompson’s first career NHL win came against the San Jose Sharks back in February.

Avoid the Trap Game

It’s no secret that the San Jose Sharks are not a very good hockey team this season. In the regular season, the Golden Knights have always had the upper hand on the Sharks. They are 2-0 this season against the Sharks.

But a rivalry that goes back to the inaugural season of the VGK has put some hostility between these two franchises and the Sharks are not going to roll over and let the Golden Knights win.

The Fortress

Sunday’s game will be the final home game of the regular season for the Golden Knights. With playoffs not guaranteed, this could be the final home game for the entire season for that matter. The Golden Knights are just 22-15-3 this season at home. But with their season on the line, they need to build off the home crowd one last time so that they can ensure more games at T-Mobile Arena this Spring.

Projected Vegas Golden Knights Line Combinations

Jonathan Marchessault- Jack Eichel- Mark Stone

Max Pacioretty- Chandler Stephenson- Evgenii Dadonov

Mattias Janmark- William Karlsson- Michael Amadio

William Carrier- Nicolas Roy- Keegan Kolesar

Ben Hutton– Alex Pietrangelo

Brayden McNabb- Shea Theodore

Alec Martinez- Zach Whitecloud

Logan Thompson/Robin Lehner

Vegas Golden Knights Special Teams

17.65% Powerplay (24th) and 77.61 % Penalty Kill (21st)

PP1: Pacioretty, Eichel, Stone Dadonov, Theodore

PP2: Roy, Karlsson, Marchessault, Stephenson, Pietrangelo

PK1: Karlsson, Janmark, McNabb, Pietrangelo

PK2: Stephenson, Roy, Martinez, Whitecloud

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

Reilly Smith (knee), Laurent Brossoit (undisclosed), Nicolas Hague (lower-body), Brett Howden (upper-body), Nolan Patrick (undisclosed), Dylan Coghlan (scratched)

Projected San Jose Sharks Line Combinations

Timo Medier- Tomas Hertl- Alexander Barabanov

Nick Bonino- Logan Couture- Matthew Nieto

Rudolfs Balcers- Thomas Bordeleau- Noah Gregor

Scott Reedy- Sasha Chmelevski- Jasper Weatherby

Mario Ferraro- Brent Burns

Jaycob Megna- Nicolas Meloche

Marc-Edouard Vlasic- Ryan Merkley

James Reimer/Kaapo Kahkonen

San Jose Sharks Special Teams

18.66% Powerplay (23rd) and 85.85% Penalty Kill (3rd)

PP1- Gregor, Hertl, Barabanov, Meier, Merkley

PP2- Reedy, Bordeleau, Couture, Bonino, Burns

PK1- Bonino, Nieto, Ferraro, Burns

PK2- Hertl, Gregor, Megna, Meloche

Injured Reserve/COVID-19 Protocols/Scratches

Erik Karlsson, Kevin Labanc, Ryan Dzingel, Adin Hill, Radim Simek, John Leonard, Jonah Gadjovich

How to Watch/Listen

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