Vegas Golden Knights Pondering Lineup Changes Ahead Of Game Two
The Vegas Golden Knights lineup for game two is up in the air after today’s mornings skate.
When the Vegas Golden Knights drop a game in the playoffs, Head Coach Gerard Gallant has always made at least one change to the lineup. And it turns out that will be the case for tonight in game two against the Winnipeg Jets as well. But there’s a twist to this one.
At max, there could be two lineup changes tonight. First of all, four players were skating together on the fourth line. Those players were Oscar Lindberg, Ryan Reaves, Pierre-Edouard Bellemare and Tomas Nosek.
Nosek hasn’t played since game four of the San Jose Sharks series where it looked like he was battling an injury of some sort. After multiple days off to clear his head and recover from a potential injury, it may be time to get him back in the lineup. The question is who comes out?
Let’s face it, Bellemare is definitely not coming out. Reaves has provided a physical presence and could potentially get under the skin of Jets defenseman Dustin Byfuglien. And Lindberg has provided a two-way presence on the fourth line and the penalty kill unit.
Well, Carpenter is skating with Tuch and Eakin, so looks like he’s moving back up to the third line.
— Jesse Granger (@JesseGranger_) May 14, 2018
The fourth line isn’t clear, with 4 guys (Bellemare, Lindberg, Nosek & Reaves) all skating together.
Meanwhile, the other lineup change looks like it may be a significant one. Tomas Tatar took the place of David Perron on the second line with James Neal and Erik Haula this morning. Let’s remember, Tatar has had chemistry before with Haula and Neal at the end of the regular season.
Perron did not have a great game to open up this series against Winnipeg. Perhaps Gallant is hoping for a hungry Tatar to breakout and give the Golden Knights offense a jolt. However, the Ilava, Czechoslovakia native has been held off the scoresheet in all four playoff games with Vegas.
Tatar skated in place of Perron at morning skate. Turk didn’t say why or who will play tonight.
— Jesse Granger (@JesseGranger_) May 14, 2018
As usual he’s keeping it close to the vest and we will find out at pregame warmups.
As for the first line, Jonathan Marchessault, William Karlsson, and Reilly Smith will once again ride together as the teams top unit. Additionally, Ryan Carpenter will be bumped up to the third line with Cody Eakin and Alex Tuch. Furthermore, the defensive pairings remained the same at today’s morning skate.
Next: Vegas Golden Knights Drop Game One Due To Nightmare First Period
All in all, Gallant and the coaching staff have a lot of tough decisions to make before the start of tonight’s crucial game two. The Vegas Golden Knights are 2-0 in playoff games following a loss, can they make it 3-0? Catch puck drop of game two between the Jets and Golden Knights at 5 PM PT on NBC Sports Network.