Second Meeting with Bedard: Vegas Golden Knights vs. Chicago Blackhawks Preview

The Vegas Golden Knights look to extend their NHL record winning streak to start a season by a defending Stanley Cup champion Friday against the Chicago Blackhawks at T-Mobile Arena.

About the Golden Knights (7-0-0, 14 points): Coach Bruce Cassidy said there has been some, “uneven Hockey,” by the Golden Knights. That was on display in the recent games vs. the Philadelphia Flyers and Chicago Blackhawks. Can the Golden Knights string together a 60-minute effort?

Alex Pietrangelo practiced fully Thursday and is set to return to the lineup. Nic Roy suffered a lower-body injury Tuesday against the Flyers and is day-to-day. Zach Whitecloud remains on LTIR.

Expected lines

Barbashev-Eichel-Marchessault
Cotter-Stephenson-Stone
Dorofeyev-Karlsson-Amadio
Carrier-Howden-Kolesar

Martinez-Pietrangelo
McNabb-Theodore
Hague-Korczak

Hill

About the Blackhawks (2-5-0, 4 points): As expected, it has been a rough start for the Blackhawks. It is going to take time for Connor Bedard, Lukas Reichel, and the other young players to develop. Bedard scored his second NHL goal against the Golden Knights last Saturday.

The goaltending has been a bright spot for the Blackhawks. Petr Mrazek has a save percentage of .925 and Arvid Soderblom is at .913.

The Blackhawks gave the Golden Knights a good game for two periods last Saturday. Expect the Golden Knights to have a much better effort from the moment the puck drops Friday.

Golden Knights to watch: Dorofeyev draws into his third game of the season and looks to bring some scoring punch to the third line with William Karlsson and Michael Amadio. Brett Howden goes from the wing to centering the fourth line with William Carrier and Nicolas Roy.

Key storyline: The Golden Knights have given up just 13 goals through the first seven games of the season which is tied for the second lowest. Friday the Golden Knights will get Pietrangelo back and be without just one of their regular defensemen (Whitecloud). It is hard to imagine the Golden Knights’ defense getting better, the Blackhawks have a tall “Adin Hill” to climb for Friday’s game.

BROADCAST INFORMATION
Time: 3:00 p.m. PST.
TV: Vegas 34 (Scripps Sports)
Streaming: KnightTime+
Radio: FOX Sports Las Vegas 98.9/1340