Golden Knights Gameday 18: Phil 1Kessel: Lines and Notes vs Coyotes

The achievement continues to be impressive with each and every game, that is, Phil Kessel’s streak of consecutive games played in the NHL. Against his former team Thursday night Kessel will play in his 1,000th straight NHL game as the Vegas Golden Knights (13-4-0, 26 points) take on the Arizona Coyotes (6-8-1, 13 points) home at 7 p.m. This will be the first matchup of three between these two teams.

There will be a special pregame announcement with Kessel and members of his family, so if you plan on being in attendance tonight, make sure to arrive at T-Mobile a little early.

“It is a special number, obviously, even though 999 is only one more game, and that is a lot, and 1,001 will be a lot. It’s a cool number; that’s the way I look at it,” said head coach Bruce Cassidy on Kessel.

No lineup changes are expected for the Golden Knights. Logan Thompson will start yet again. After a nine-game winning streak, the Golden Knights have lost two in a row and will look to get their first win on their current three-game homestand before they leave for Edmonton and Vancouver.

What To Watch For

Kessel Carnival

The last two times Kessel had milestone games with the Golden Knights, he put the puck in the back of the net. He scored a goal that was deemed offsides against the Maple Leafs when he tied Keith Yandle for the Ironman Record and also scored in his record-setting game against the Sharks, his 400th goal.

Expect Kessel to be more active, with tonight being yet another special night in his legendary career as he plays in his 1,000th straight game.

“It’s really cool. I don’t know if another player will ever do that again. It’s pretty crazy. For him to be able to do that is so cool and all of us are proud of him,” said 23-year-old Paul Cotter, who was in grade school when Kessel started his streak in 2009.

“The amount of games he has played in a row is absolutely insane. It’s pretty cool to be playing with a guy with that much experience and just to be able to ask him questions and work with him,” added fellow linemate, Brett Howden.

Back On Track

After two straight losses, there isn’t any panic in the Golden Knights locker room. But everyone from Cassidy to Cotter knows that getting back on track against the Coyotes is a must tonight.

“Our urgency should be higher simply because we have not put points on the board these past two games. Good teams don’t let those things fester… I am less concerned about Arizona; I don’t mean that disrespectfully but we have t get our house in order first,” said head coach Cassidy.

Despite racking up 18 straight points, the Golden Knights are only ahead of the Los Angeles Kings by three points. Four of their next six games are against Pacific Division teams.

Projected Vegas Golden Knights Line Combinations

Chandler Stephenson- Jack Eichel– Mark Stone (c)

Jonathan Marchessault- William Karlsson– Reilly Smith

Paul Cotter- Brett Howden- Phil Kessel

William Carrier- Nicolas Roy- Keegan Kolesar

Alec Martinez- Alex Pietrangelo

Brayden McNabb- Shea Theodore

Nicolas Hague- Zach Whitecloud

Logan Thompson/Adin Hill

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

Michael Amadio, Jake Leschyshyn, Ben Hutton

Projected Coyotes Line Combinations

Clayton Keller- Barrett Hayton- Travis Boyd

Matias Maccelli- Nick Bjugstad- Lawson Crouse

Nick Ritchie- Jack McBain- Christian Fischer

Liam O’Brien- Laurent Dauphin- Dylan Guenther

Juuso Valimaki- JJ Moser

Shayne Gostisbehere- Josh Brown

Patrick Nemeth- Troy Stetcher

Karel Vejmelka/Connor Ingram

Coyotes Special Teams

PP1- Ritchie, Boyd, Keller, Gostisbehere, Moser

PP2- Crouse, Hayton, Guenther, Valimaki, Maccelli

PK1- McBain, Crouse, Moser, Brown

PK2- Hayton, Keller, Gostisbehere, Nemeth

IR/Scratches

Bryan Little, Andrew Ladd, Jakob Chychrun, Nick Schmaltz, Conor Timmins, Zack Kassian/Dysin Mayo

How to Watch/Listen

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