Golden Knights Gameday 70: Ending East: Lines and Notes vs Blue Jackets

The Vegas Golden Knights (42-21-6, 90 points) will finish up their regular-season schedule against Eastern Conference opponents at 1:00 p.m. today as they play the Columbus Blue Jackets (21-40-7, 49 points) at T-Mobile Arena.

Despite both Logan Thompson and Laurent Brossoit participating in team practice yesterday, neither will dress as the VGK will go with Jiri Patera and Jonathan Quick in the net. No other lineup changes are expected for the Golden Knights.

This is the second and final matchup of the season series between these two teams. The Golden Knights are 1-0 against Columbus this season and 21-8-2 against Eastern Conference teams this season.

What to Watch For

Goalies Galore

There are tons of goaltending storylines surrounding this game. For the Golden Knights, they will play either the veteran Jonathan Quick or the rookie Jiri Patera, both goaltenders who nobody expected to be the team's tandem at the start of the season. The play of both of them will be under a microscope as Logan Thompson and Laurent Brossoit inch toward full health. 

If Quick starts and wins, he will become the sole leader for the second-most wins by a US-born goalie. If Pater starts and wins, he will get his second-career NHL win and his first at T-Mobile Arena.

At the other end of the ice, the Golden Knights could run into former goaltender Michael Hutchinson, who was traded to Columbus in the Quick trade. With Elvis Merzlikins injured, the former VGK goaltender, who technically never played a game with the Knights, is now the starter for the CBJ. 

Bottom-Six Spirit

The Golden Knight's bottom six is becoming even more clogged and convoluted with the trade deadline acquisitions that were added at the trade deadline, the emergence of Pavel Dorofeyev, and another batch of injuries. Guys like Michael Amadio, Paul Cotter, and Brett Howden have been shuffled up and down the lineup in an attempt to find the right fit on the team.

A good way for these players, who may have their jobs in jeopardy soon, to stand out is to muck things up. We have seen Howden get involved in some altercations and most recently, saw the rookie Cotter drop the gloves. Perhaps we see some more this afternoon.

Projected Golden Knights Line Combinations

Ivan Barbashev- Jack Eichel- Jonathan Marchessault

Reilly Smith- William Karlsson- Pavel Dorofeyev

Brett Howden- Chandler Stephenson- Phil Kessel

Paul Cotter- Teddy Blueger- Michael Amadio

Alec Martinez- Alex Pietrangelo

Brayden McNabb- Shea Theodore

Nicolas Hague- Zach Whitecloud

Jonathan Quick/Jiri Patera

Golden Knights Special Teams

PP1: Amadio, Smith, Stephenson, Eichel, Theodore

PP2: Marchessault, Barbashev, Karlsson, Kessel, Pietrangelo

PK1: Karlsson, Smith, McNabb, Pietrangelo

PK2: Stephenson, Blueger, Whitecloud, Martinez

IR/Scratches

Nolan Patrick, Robin Lehner/Mark Stone (c), Logan Thompson, Laurent Brossoit, Will Carrier, Nicolas Roy, Keegan Kolesar, Adin Hill/Ben Hutton

Projected Blue Jackets Line Combinations

Johnny Gaudreau- Boone Jenner (c)- Patrick Laine

Kent Johnson- Jack Roslovic- Kirill Marchenko

Eric Robinson- Cole Sillinger- Emil Bemstrom

Liam Foudy- Lane Pederson- Mathieu Olivier

Nick Blankenburg- Erik Gudbranson

Tim Berni- Andrew Peeke

Gavin Bayreuther- Adam Boqvist

Michael Hutchinson/Daniil Tarasov

Blue Jackets Special Teams

PP1- Marchenko, Jenner, Gaudreau, Laine, Boqvist

PP2- Sillinger, Roslovic, Johnson, Bemstrom, Blankenburg

PK1- Roslovic, Robinson, Gudbranson, Peeke

PK2- Sillinger, Foudy, Blankenburg, Bayreuther

IR/Scratches

Jake Bean, Justin Danforth, Zach Werenski, Sean Kuraly, Elvis Merzlikins, Aleandre Texier

How to Watch/Listen

1:00 p.m. on AT&T Sportsnet, ESPN+ and Fox Sports 98.9 FM Radio.