Vegas Golden Knights: William Carrier Returns To Practice

The fourth line grinder is finally on the cusp of a return to the Vegas Golden Knights lineup.

The Vegas Golden Knights have been on a tear despite the number of injuries they’ve to endure throughout the season. Three of their top goaltenders on the depth chart, Erik Haula, Jonathan Marchessault, Luca Sbisa, and David Perron have all missed time due to injury. But somehow they still sit in second place in the Pacific division at 19-9-1 with 39 points.

However, there one player that missed a considerable amount of time that everyone seems to forget. Golden Knights left wing William Carrier has been out with an upper-body injury since November 25th. He’s one-third of one of the best fourth lines in hockey with Pierre-Edouard Bellemare and Tomas Nosek.

Here’s where the problem lies. Oscar Lindberg has taken over Carrier’s role on the fourth line and the line has done well in his absence. Lindberg fits the job of a third or fourth liner and has better offensive ability than a player like Carrier.

The Knights have an excellent problem when it comes to their roster. When general manager George McPhee put together this group at the expansion draft, he acquired a bunch of hard-working players that would fit in Gerard Gallant’s style of coaching. But those hard-working type of players have exceeded everyone’s expectations, and it’s left with players like Carrier and Lindberg trying to fight their way in and out of the lineup.

I think Carrier should get his fourth line spot back in the somewhat near future. He’s not going to put up points every night as he only has one goal and one assist through 20 games played, but he’s the best fit for the fourth line in my opinion. He can penalty kill, win puck battles in the corners, he can enforce when needed, and he’s also one of the faster skaters on the team.

His chemistry with Bellemare and Nosek is well apparent. Gallant hasn’t tinkered with that line all season. And if Carrier didn’t suffer that injury, it’s very likely that he would still have his spot and not Lindberg.

Next: Vegas Golden Knights Activate Marc-Andre Fleury.

All in all, the addition of Carrier provides stability to the Vegas Golden Knights bottom six. He’s still little ways away since he’s wearing the noncontact red jersey at practice on Monday. But he will not dress when the Knights take on the Carolina Hurricanes Tuesday night at T-Mobile Arena. Catch puck drop at 7 PM PT with Dave Goucher and Shane Hnidy on AT&T Sportsnet.