Golden Knights Gameday
Golden Knights Game 52, Jungleland; Lines, Notes, & How to Watch vs Rangers

The Vegas Golden Knights (31-15-6) kick off their four-game road trip with three straight games in the New York metropolitan area. They’ll be looking to bounce back after a January filled with inconsistent play– they were still at hockey .500, though, and went 6-6-3. The Golden Knights will take on the New York Rangers (24-23-4) at Madison Square Garden, which you may have heard referred to as “the world’s most famous arena” once or twice.
The puck drops just after 3 p.m.
The Golden Knights ended January with a three-game homestand. They went 1-0-2. Last Thursday, they lost to the Columbus Blue Jackets at home in overtime despite a strong goaltending performance from Ilya Samsonov.
The Rangers played yesterday, and despite two goals from newly acquired JT Miller, they were thoroughly thumped by the Boston Bruins. The game ended 6-3, but I watched it, and I can say that it was more lopsided than the final score indicates. I imagine the Rangers will come out flying this afternoon in a desperate attempt to cleanse their palettes of yesterday’s shortcomings.
Adin Hill starts in net for the Golden Knights. Hill has a 2-4-0 record with an average save percentage of .922 in six career games against the Rangers.
Igor Shesterkin started for the Rangers yesterday, so the Golden Knights will face future Hockey Hall of Famer Jonathan Quick. Quick, if you recall, played ten games for the Golden Knights during his brief stint with the team during the 2022-23 season. Although he didn’t start a postseason game, his name is engraved on the Stanley Cup. Quick has a record of 5-9-1 and an average save percentage of .881 in 15 career games against the Golden Knights.
Projected Golden Knights Lines
Ivan Barbashev-Jack Eichel-Keegan Kolesar
Victor Olofsson-Tomáš Hertl-Pavel Dorofeyev
Brandon Saad-Brett Howden-Mark Stone
Tanner Pearson-Nicolas Roy-Raphaël Lavoie
Defense
Brayden McNabb-Shea Theodore
Nicolas Hague-Alex Pietrangelo
Noah Hanifin-Zach Whitecloud
Goaltender: Adin Hill
Projected Rangers Lines
Artemi Panarin-JT Miller-Mika Zibanejad
Reilly Smith-Vincent Trocheck-Alexis Lafrenière
Chris Kreider-Johnny Brodzinski-Will Cuylle
Jimmy Vesey-Sam Carrick-Matt Rempe
Defense
Ryan Lindgren-Adam Fox
K’Andre Miller-Will Borgen
Urho Vaakanainen-Braden Schneider
Goaltender: Jonathan Quick
Special Teams
Golden Knights power play: 28.1%, 3rd. Golden Knights penalty kill: 78.4%, 19th.
Rangers power play: 20.2%, 19th. Rangers penalty kill: 82.7%, 4th.
Game Notes
The Golden Knights are 8-5 against the Rangers all time. The Rangers won their only meeting this season by a score of 2-1. That was the game that kickstarted Hertl’s 11-game point streak.
During the 2023-24 season, Jack Eichel set a franchise record with a 12-game point streak. If he records a point today against the Rangers, Tomáš Hertl will tie that.
Today’s tilt will be Brandon Saad’s first game in a Golden Knights uniform. He’ll wear number 20, which was last worn by Chandler Stephenson. Saad left some serious cash on the table when he signed here.
Hertl has eight goals and ten assists in 19 games played against the Rangers in his career.
Rangers defenseman Urho Vaakanainen was just named to Team Finland for the 4 Nations Face-Off Tournament. He’ll replace Miro Heiskanen, who was injured last week in a game against the Golden Knights.
Artemi Panarin has three goals and 11 assists in 10 career games against the Golden Knights.
Newest– can we really call him that?– Ranger JT Miller has six goals and 12 assists in 18 career games against the Golden Knights.
This season, the Golden Knights have a road record of 12-9-3; the Rangers are 12-11-2 at MSG.