Golden Knights Gameday 45: DeBoer’s Dallas: Lines and Notes vs Stars

The Vegas Golden Knights (28-14-2, 58 points) will face off against their former head coach, Peter DeBoer, Monday afternoon as they play the Dallas Stars (25-12-7, 57 points) at 3:00 p.m. on MLK Day.

Mark Stone is expected to miss a second-straight game with an upper-body injury, and now Will Carrier is listed as out with an upper-body injury as well. Both Byron Froese, who played last game, and Jonas Rondbjerg have been recalled.

This is the first matchup of the season between the Stars and Golden Knights, who are two of the top teams in the Western Conference. The Golden Knights have an 8-2-1 record all-time against the Stars.

Peter DeBoer will make his return to T-Mobile Arena for the first time since being let go this past offseason. In three seasons with the Golden Knights, DeBoer coached the team to a 160-98-50 record which included two trips to the Stanley Cup Playoffs where they went as far as the Conference Finals.

What to Watch For

Familiar Systems

With DeBoer returning, the Golden Knights likely have some insight into the systems the Stars will be playing, given that they played under them.

"We probably know their systems pretty well. Obviously, they have done really well this year they have a structured group and have good players, so we have to be on top of our game," said Reilly Smith, who was coached by DeBoer for three seasons.

Robo Watch

Stars forward Jason Robertson has established himself as one of the top players in the National Hockey League this season, with 60 points in 44 games. The 23-year-old is one goal away from hitting 30 goals for the second time in his career. Robertson has three goals and an assist in four career games against the Golden Knights and 19 multi-point games this season.

Keeeeeeeeegan

A player who emerged into the NHL under a Peter DeBoer-led team, Keegan Kolesar is playing the best hockey of his young career. The fourth liner has six points in his last six games and fought Givani Smith of the Florida Panthers the other night. He has been a huge part of the Golden Knight's fourth line all season, and now pucks are starting to go in for KK.

Projected Vegas Golden Knights Line Combinations

Chandler Stephenson- Jack Eichel- Jonathan Marchessault

Reilly Smith- William Karlsson- Phil Kessel

Paul Cotter- Michael Amadio- Byron Froese

Jonas Rondbjerg- Nicolas Roy- Keegan Kolesar

Nicolas Hague- Alex Pietrangelo

Brayden McNabb- Kaedan Korczak

Alec Martinez- Ben Hutton

Logan Thompson/Adin Hill

Golden Knights Special Teams

PP1: Stephenson, Marchessault, Smith, Eichel, Pietrangelo

PP2: Cotter, Karlsson, Kessel, Roy, Hutton

PK1: Karlsson, Smith, McNabb, Pietrangelo

PK2: Stephenson, Roy, Hague, Hutton

IR/Scratches

Shea Weber, Nolan Patrick, Robin Lehner/Mark Stone, Will Carrier, Brett Howden, Pavel Dorofeyev, Shea Theodore, Zach Whitecloud, Daniil Miromanov

Projected Stars Line Combinations

Jason Robertson- Tyler Seguin- Joe Pavelski

Jamie Benn- Wyatt Johnston- Ty Dellandrea

Mason Marchment- Luke Glendening- Dennis Gurianov

Fredrik Olofsson- Radek Faksa- Joel Kiviranta

Miro Heiskanen- Colin Miller

Ryan Suter- Nils Lundqvist

Esa Lindell- Jani Hakanpaa

Jake Oettinger/Scott Wedgewood

Stars Special Teams

PP1- Pavelski, Benn, Robertson, Seguin, Heiskanen

PP2- Marchment, Johnston, Gurianov, Lundkvist, Suter

PK1- Faksa, Glendening, Lindell, Hakanpaa

PK2- Seguin, Kiviranta, Suter, Heiskanen

IR/Scratches

Roope Hintz, Nicholas Caamano/Anto Khudobin, Joel Hanley

How to Watch/Listen

3:00 p.m. on AT&T Sportsnet, ESPN+ and Fox Sports 98.9 FM Radio.