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Vegas Golden Knights Face Off With Ducks In Anaheim

By Richard Cardinale

LAS VEGAS, NV - NOVEMBER 19: Maxime Lagace #33 of the Vegas Golden Knights defends his goal against the Los Angeles Kings during the game at T-Mobile Arena on November 19, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/NHLI via Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NV - NOVEMBER 19: Maxime Lagace #33 of the Vegas Golden Knights defends his goal against the Los Angeles Kings during the game at T-Mobile Arena on November 19, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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Vegas Golden Knights will have their hands full when they take on the Ducks at the Honda Center Wednesday night.

As crazy as it sounds, when the Vegas Golden Knights take the Honda Center ice, they won’t play the role of underdog. The team also won’t be playing the same old Anaheim Ducks teams of the past either. Anaheim has been battling the injury bug all season long as they lead the league in man games lost by a wide margin.

Injuries to stars such as Ryan Getzlaf, Ryan Kesler, Ondrej Kase, and Ryan Miller put the team behind the eight ball. Defensemen Cam Fowler and Hampus Lindholm were also out for an extended period. And Patrick Eaves has yet to come back from Guillain-Barre syndrome as well.  You can only feel a little bad for Anaheim, but the Golden Knights must capitalize on this opportunity.

Getting points against a division foe that’s as hurt as Anaheim is at this point would be huge. Head Coach Gerard Gallant’s hard work mentality will be in full effect Wednesday night. But our coach also made a lineup change ahead of tonight’s game with the Ducks.

Gallant decided to swap Tomas Nosek out for Oscar Lindberg on the fourth line. Lindberg sat in the press box against the Los Angeles Kings after the brutal turnover against Vancouver Thursday night. I think that’s the right call; let’s see how Lindberg responds after the healthy scratch.

Even with Malcolm Subban healthy and ready to go, Gallant decides to ride the hot hand starting Maxime Lagace in goal. Tonight will mark Lagace’s tenth straight start and 11th consecutive appearance overall. It’ll be interesting to see when Subban gets back in net if Lagace keeps up his recent success.

Former Anaheim Duck William Karlsson is on fire for the Golden Knights. After going pointless the first four games of the season, Karlsson has been on a tear with 16 points in 15 games played. He may have an extra jump in his step tonight playing against the team that drafted him in the second round in the 2011 NHL entry draft.

Rickard Rakell has been the most impressive player for Anaheim this year, totaling eight goals and ten assists through 20 games played. And not too far behind is Brandon Montour who’s really taken a massive step in his development. In 20 games played the 23-year old defenseman recorded six goals and six assists with a plus-four rating.

Ducks goaltender John Gibson will once again get the call for Anaheim. Gibson is 7-6-1 with a GAA of 2.78, and a save percentage of .924 through 16 games played, but he’s elevated his game as of late. Gibson is 2-1-0 in his last three games but has a .954 save percentage.

Next: Vegas Golden Knights Proving The House Always Wins.

All in all, tonight’s game should be a physical battle and will provide for tons of entertainment. But with two big points on the line, the Vegas Golden Knights must take advantage of an enormous opportunity. Catch puck drop with Dave Goucher and Shane Hnidy at 7:30 PT on AT&T Sportsnet.

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