Golden Knights Playoffs Gameday Round 1, Game 2: Lines and Starting Goalies vs Jets

The Vegas Golden Knights (0-1 series) will try and even their first-round Stanley Cup Playoff series against the Winnipeg Jets (1-0 series) tonight at T-Mobile Arena at 7:00 p.m. No lineup changes are expected for the VGK, and Laurent Brossoit will start yet again.

For the Jets, Nikolaj Ehlers, who is out with an upper-body injury, will be a game-time decision.

As a reminder, the Jets will host Games 3 and 4 in Winnipeg on Saturday and Monday. If the Golden Knights win tonight, it confirms a Game 5 matchup back at T-Mobile Arena on Thursday, April 27. 

What To Watch For

Intensity

Simply put, the Golden Knights were not ready to play Stanley Cup Playoff hockey in Game 1. They made several costly mistakes and turnovers that allowed the Jets' top scorers to put the puck in the back of the net. Cleaning up their game is a must for game two. This isn't the regular season.

"This playoff hockey. You need an intensity level that is greater than the one we had… I don't think they were doing anything special. They get full value for the win- don't get me wrong.. but some of it was self-inflicted. So we've got to start with that," said head coach Bruce Cassidy. 

Goaltending

While Laurent Brossoit wasn't horrible, the Golden Knights lost the goaltending battle in Game 1. Connor Hellebuyck was only beaten once, off the rush, by William Karlsson. The Golden Knights will need to find more creative ways to score on Hellebuyck, such as getting their powerplay going. At the other end of the ice, they will need key saves from Brossoit to keep them in the game.

Alerting Eichel

Jack Eichel was invisible in his first career Stanley Cup Playoff game, with just two shots and a -3 rating. For the Golden Knights to be successful, they need him to up his game, even with shutdown players being up against him. 

Projected Golden Knights Line Combinations

Ivan Barbashev- Jack Eichel- Jonathan Marchessault

Reilly Smith- William Karlsson- Phil Kessel

Michael Amadio- Chandler Stephenson- Mark Stone

Brett Howden- Nicolas Roy- Keegan Kolesar

Alec Martinez- Alex Pietrangelo

Brayden McNabb- Shea Theodore

Nicolas Hague- Zach Whitecloud

Laurent Brossoit/Jonathan Quick

Golden Knights Special Teams

PP1: Stone, Barbashev, Stephenson, Eichel, Pietrangelo

PP2: Roy, Smith, Karlsson, Marchessault, Theodore

PK1: Karlsson, Smith, McNabb, Pietrangelo

PK2: Roy, Stephenson, Whitecloud, Martinez

IR/Scratches

Nolan Patrick, Robin Lehner/Will Carrier, Adin Hill, Logan Thompson/Paul Cotter, Teddy Blueger, Brayden Pachal, Ben Hutton

Projected Jets Line Combinations

Kyle Connor- Pierre-Luc Dubois- Mark Scheifele

Nikolaj Ehlers*- Vladislav Namestnikov- Blake Wheeler

Nino Neiderreiter- Adam Lowry- Mason Appleton

Morgan Barron- David Gustafsson- Saku Maenalanen

Josh Morrissey- Dylan DeMelo

Brendon Dillon- Neal Pionk

Dylan Samberg- Nate Schmidt

Connor Hellebuyck/David Rittich

Jets Special Teams

PP1- Ehlers, Dubois, Connor, Scheifele, Morrissey

PP2- Wheeler, Namestnikov, Niederreiter, Pionk, Schmidt

PK1- Lowry, Appleton, Dillon, DeMelo

PK2- Gustafsson, Barron, Samberg, Pionk

IR/Scratches

Cole Perfetti, Sam Gagner, Kevin Stenlund/Karson Kuhlman, Axel Jonsson-Fjallby, Logan Stanley, Kyle Capobianco.

How to Watch/Listen

7:00 p.m. on AT&T Sportsnet-RMW, ESPN 2, SNW, TVAS2,