Vegas Golden Knights Battle First Place Los Angeles Kings
First place may not be on the line Sunday, but the Vegas Golden Knights could turn heads with a win.
The Vegas Golden Knights got a crucial 5-2 win when they played the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday night. Golden Knights goaltender Maxime Lagace earned the win and stopped 19 of 21 shots. After losing six of the last seven road games, that’s exactly what this team needed.
On the other side, despite winning 4-0 over Florida last night, the Los Angeles Kings have been struggling mightily. Lots of star players hitting cold stretches, injury to top scorer Jeff Carter and the team traded away Mike Cammalleri. It just doesn’t look like the same dominant bunch of players that started off on a roll, and the Knights need to capitalize on that.
These two teams will clash on Sunday evening at T-Mobile Arena which should make for a great game. First place won’t be on the line as the Kings hold a three-point edge over the Golden Knights in the standings. However, a big test against one of the best teams in the Western Conference should see where the Knights are at in their development as a team.
Vegas looks like they’ll be without Lucas Sbisa for a third straight game as he’s still on injured reserve. Sbisa has been rock solid on the back end for the Golden Knights. He usually shuts down the oppositions top weapon on offense and not having him in the lineup could create problems.
Shea Theodore should play in his place for a second straight game. Theodore played over 21 minutes and was a plus one on Thursday night. The Langley, British Columbia native may not bring the same defensive prowess Sbisa carries, but he improves the team’s puck movement from the blue line in a big way.
On offense, there’s no one hotter right now than David Perron. Perron carries a six-game point streak heading into tonight’s game, and he’ll once again be on the top unit for Gerard Gallant’s squad. In the last eight games played, Perron recorded three goals, seven assists and ten points with only one point coming from the power play.
William Karlsson is another player who’s feeling it right now for the Golden Knights. In the last nine games, he registered five goals, four assists, and nine points. With Karlsson and Perron on separate lines, it’ll be hard for LA to contain that red-hot duo.
One player the Knights must keep an eye on is Anze Kopitar. Kopitar just had his ten-game point streak snapped last night, and he’ll look to create a new streak tonight in Vegas. As a matter of fact, in all 20 games played, he’s only been held pointless fives times. So its pretty safe to say he’s been the Kings best player throughout the season.
Jonathan Quick is expected to start for the Kings after getting the day off in yesterdays game versus the Panthers. However on the Golden Knights side, Gallant has yet to decide whether it would be Lagace or Malcolm Subban in goal. If it is indeed Subban, it’ll be his first game back since October 21st. And if its Lagace, it’ll be his ninth straight start and tenth consecutive game overall.
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All in all, this should be an exciting hockey game from start to finish. The building should be rocking with a division rival coming to town. And the Vegas Golden Knights have something to prove that they’re not just a flash in the pan. Catch puck drop at 5 PM PT with Dave Goucher and Shane Hnidy on AT&T Sportsnet.