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Golden Knights Gameday 5: Reloading Ammo: Lines and Notes vs Jets

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Vegas Golden Knights Winnipeg Jets HOME

The Vegas Golden Knights (3-1-0, six points) are back at home for their first of three-straight home games. They will play the Winnipeg Jets (2-1-0, four points) at T-Mobile Arena at 7:00 pm Thursday.

The Golden Knights are 7-9-0 all-time against the Jets and have met them once in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, in the Western Conference Final in 2018.

Adin Hill will get his first-ever start at home as a member of the VGK, and Michael Amadio will be reinserted into the lineup for Paul Cotter.

Mark Stone, who took a puck to the face in practice, is fine and expected to play against the Jets.

What to Watch For

Ammo Reload: Drawing back into the lineup will be Michael Amadio, a waiver claim last season from the Maple Leafs who went on to score 11 goals last season and earn a two-year contract extension.

He will be playing third fiddle to two guys that have played together since the start of the franchise in Jonathan Marchessault and William Karlsson. Look for Ammo to have some quality offensive chances.

When asked about the lineup change, head coach Bruce Cassidy said the following.

“I think with Paul (Cotter), it was a simple decision. His game dropped off a bit in Seattle, and we wanted to let him play through it in Calgary. But we just felt like it was not at the same level it was… Ammo had a pretty good camp and has played here, we just felt we need a different flavor,” said Cassidy.

Freshly Shaven Phil: Four games away from becoming the NHL’s all-time Iron Man, Phil Kessel changed up his style for Thursday’s practice by shaving his beard. I asked him if it was for good luck after practice, and he said yeah, but also that he wanted to look a bit younger.

Looking younger both on and off the ice will be Kessel’s goal for this season. So far, he hasn’t impressed in four games with the VGK. On the top line with Jack Eichel and Reilly Smith, Kessel has just one assist and has taken two penalties. If anything, his defensive game has been surprisingly good so far.

Discipline: Speaking of penalties, don’t expect the Golden Knights to take six in one period as they did against the Calgary Flames. Call it what you want. Officiating, sloppy play, etc. But it cannot be repeated.

Goaltending Battle: The battle between Logan Thompson and Adin Hill in goal continues as Hill gets his second start of the season. Both goaltenders have continued to look strong and have made their cases to be the team’s defacto starter with Robin Lehner out for the season. Cassidy says the team has its plans for goaltending laid out for the month of October, and it looks like Hill v Winnipeg is a part of it.

Projected Vegas Golden Knights Line Combinations

Reilly Smith- Jack Eichel- Phil Kessel

Brett Howden- Chandler Stephenson- Mark Stone (c)

Jonathan Marchessault- William Karlsson- Michael Amadio

William Carrier- Nicolas Roy- Keegan Kolesar

Alec Martinez- Alex Pietrangelo

Brayden McNabb- Shea Theodore

Nicolas Hague- Zach Whitecloud

Adin Hill/Logan Thompson

Vegas Golden Knights Special Teams

PP1: Stone, Eichel, Stephenson, Marchessault, Pietrangelo

PP2: Roy, Karlsson, Smith, Kessel, Theodore

PK1: Roy, Stephenson, McNabb, Pietrangelo

PK2: Karlsson, Stone, Martinez, Whitecloud

IR/Scratches

Paul Cotter, Jake Leschyshyn, Ben Hutton, Laurent Brossoit

Projected Jets Line Combinations

Kyle Connor- Mark Scheifele- Mason Appleton

Cole Perfetti- Pierre-Luc Dubois- Blake Wheeler

Morgan Barron- Adam Lowry- Saku Maenalanen

Axel Jonsson-Fjallby- David Gustafsson- Sam Gagner

Josh Morrissey- Neal Pionk

Brenden Dillon- Nate Schmidt

Dylan Samberg- Dylan DeMelo

Connor Hellebuyck/David Rittich

Jets Special Teams

PP1- Dubois, Scheifele, Wheeler, Morrissey, Connor

PP2- Gagner, Lowry, Perfetti, Pionk, Schmidt

PK1- Lowry, Maenalanen, Dillon, Schmidt

PK2- Barron, Appleton, DeMelo, Pionk

IR/Scratches

Nikolaj Ehlers, Logan Stanley, Kyle Capobianco

How to Watch/Listen

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