Golden Knights Gameday 31: Jet Lag: Lines and Notes vs Jets

The Vegas Golden Knights (20-9-1, 41 points) embark on a brief two-game road trip starting on Tuesday against the Winnipeg Jets (18-8-1, 37 points) at 5:00 p.m. This is the third and final matchup of the season between these two teams. The Golden Knights are currently 2-0 this season against the Jets but 5-6-2 all-time against the former Atlanta Thrashers.

Injuries have hit the Golden Knights, with Jack Eichel, Brett Howden, Shea Theodore, and Zach Whitecloud hurt. Alex Pietrangelo remains unavailable to the team. Cassidy has labeled Eichel as day-to-day, Theodore as week-to-week, and Whitecloud as month-to-month. Howden is currently on LTIR, and Pietrangelo is on the team's non-roster list.

This game and Thursday's game mark the Golden Knight's final road games before Christmas. The team has been dominant on the road with a 12-2-0 record, knocking off top teams like the Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs.

The Jets are quietly leading the Central Division, playing a solid team game led by Vezina-caliber goaltender Connor Hellebuyck.

What to Watch For

Hellebuyck

The Golden Knights are coming off a three-game homestand where they scored just three goals in regulation. They now face Vezina frontrunner Connor Hellebuyck in the first challenge of their road trip.

Hellebuyck has a .930 save percentage this season, a 2.33 goals-against-average, and owns three shutouts. He's arguably been the best goaltender in the league this season up to this point and is the main component of the Jet's success so far.

For the struggling-to-score Golden Knights, they will be up against a huge test, both literally and figuratively, with Hellebuyck in net.

Summoning Stone

With stars Eichel, Pietrangelo, and Theodore out of the lineup, Mark Stone will have to continue upping his game and leading the VGK.

The Golden Knights captain has 10 points in his last 12 games and is two points away from his 500th career point in the NHL.

Korczak or Pachal?

We'll have to wait for warmups to see which Henderson Silver Knights defensemen gets into the lineup for the VGK with three defensemen out. The team recalled both Brayden Pachal and Kaedan Korczak from the HSK on Monday.

As the captain of the Silver Knights, Pachal played two games for the Golden Knights last season. The undrafted 23-year-old has seven points in 25 games in the AHL.

Korczak survived until the last batch of training camp cuts for the VGK. The 21-year-old is a 2019 fourth-round pick of the Golden Knights and has six points in 24 games with the HSK this season.

Projected Vegas Golden Knights Line Combinations

Paul Cotter- Chandler Stephenson- Mark Stone (c)

Reilly Smith- William Karlsson- Jonathan Marchessault

Jonas Rondbjerg- Jake Leschyshyn- Phil Kessel

William Carrier- Nicolas Roy- Keegan Kolesar

Alec Martinez- Nicolas Hague

Brayden McNabb- Ben Hutton

Daniil Miromanov- Kaedan Korczak

Logan Thompson/Adin Hill

Golden Knights Special Teams

PP1: Stone, Smith, Stephenson, Marchessault, Hutton

PP2: Roy, Karlsson, Carrier, Kessel, Miromanov

PK1: Karlsson, Smith, McNabb, Martinez

PK2: Stephenson, Stone, Hague, Hutton

IR/Scratches

Alex Pietragelo/Zach Whitecloud, Brett Howden, Jack Eichel, Shea Theodore/Michael Amadio

Projected Jets Line Combinations

Cole Perfetti- Mark Scheifele- Blake Wheeler

Kyle Connor- Pierre-Luc Dubois- Michael Eyssimont

Morgan Barron- Adam Lowry- Jansen Harkins

David Gustafsson- Kevin Stenlund- Sam Gagner

Josh Morrissey- Dylan DeMelo

Brenden Dillon- Neal Pionk

Dylan Samberg- Nate Schmidt

Connor Helleybuck/David Rittich

Jets Special Teams

PP1- PLD, Scheiefle, Wheeler, Connor, Morrissey

PP2- Harkins, Barron, Lowry, Perfetti, Schmidt

PK1- Lowry, Barron, Dillon, DeMelo

PK2- Connor, Wheeler, Samberg, Schmidt

IR/Scratches

Nikolaj Ehlers, Mason Appleton, Logan Stanley, Saku Maenalanen/Axel Jonsson-Fjallby, Kyle Capobianco

How to Watch/Listen

5:00 p.m. on AT&T Sportsnet, ESPN+ and Fox Sports 98.9 FM Radio.