Vegas Golden Knights: Last chance saloon for bubble players
After a few days’ rest bite, the Vegas Golden Knights are back in action tonight when they take on the Colorado Avalanche in their fifth game of the preseason – 7:00 p.m. PT.
We’re into the latter stages of the preseason now with just three exhibition games left for the Vegas Golden Knights to navigate before the regular season finally gets underway next Wednesday.
The Knights are a perfect 4-0-0 in the preseason so far and have outscored their opponents 17-5, while a number of players – both established veterans and promising prospects, have stood out and showcased their abilities.
However, with Vegas Head Coach Gerard Gallant planning on using the final two games of the preseason as rehearsals for the regular season, tonight’s game against the Avs will be huge for those players on the bubble.
We did a piece earlier on the three big roster decisions still up in the air and, for the likes of Brandon Pirri and Cody Glass and the glut of rookie blueliners slugging it out for a roster spot, tonight could be their final opportunity to catch the eye of the coaching staff.
All five rookie defensemen are expected to play later and for Dylan Coghlan, who is arguably winning the race to win the one open roster spot on the blueline, tonight’s game will be a chance to make all of his hard work pay off.
Glass will also get one more opportunity to continue to prove that he’s primed and ready for the NHL, and he’ll play on the right wing of the second line. Paul Stastny will make his preseason debut tonight and he will center that line, with Brandon Pirri slotting in on the left wing and he too will be going all out to impress and try and keep his name in the hat for the left wing role on the third line.
As per our good friend at The Athletic, Jesse Granger, below were the forward line rushes at morning skate earlier today. These are expected to be the forward lines tonight:
Marchessault-Karlsson-Stone
Pirri-Stastny-Glass
Carrier-Roy-Brown
McKenzie-Duke-Kolesar
Elite defenseman Shea Theodore will also make his preseason debut after recovering from a slight tweak sustained on the opening day of Training Camp. It has been an emotional summer for Theodore who was diagnosed with testicular cancer in the summer, and he will no doubt be eager to get back out on the ice after making a full recovery.
Malcolm Subban will get the start between the pipes tonight and he enjoyed a strong outing in his first and only preseason game so far, making 28 saves on 30 shots in the preseason opening win against the Arizona Coyotes.
It could well be Subban’s final chance to get dialled in ahead of the regular season and the goalie will be looking to be sharp from the first drop of the puck after enduring a sloppy start in that Coyotes win.
Vegas fans will also no doubt be excited to see how a top line of Jonathan Marchessault, William Karlsson and Mark Stone performs, and that could have the potential to be an explosive combination this evening.
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However, the most important aspect of tonight’s game will be the performances of those players gunning for the few open roster spots. For Brandon Pirri, Cody Glass, Nicholas Roy and the glut of young defensemen, tonight could be season defining and it could give us an indication as early as Thursday when it comes to working out the makeup of the opening night roster.
Puck drop is at 7:00 p.m. PT and Vegas Golden Knights fans can catch the game locally on KTNV Channel 13 and FOX Sports Radio 98.9/1340. If you are attending tonight’s game in person then you will receive a Nate Schmidt bobblehead, which is extremely cool!