Vegas Golden Knights: All eyes on the regular season as Kings come to town
It feels like Christmas Eve with the 2019-20 NHL regular season edging ever closer and tonight’s preseason matchup against the LA Kings will serve as a vital tune-up for the Vegas Golden Knights.
After a long off-season and a packed Training Camp schedule, the Vegas Golden Knights will be glad to see the sight of October and they have just two preseason games left to navigate before they get down to proper business.
The home stretch starts tonight with the LA Kings in town and the game at T-Mobile Arena (7:00 p.m. PT) will give us some insight into how the Golden Knights’ opening roster will look next Wednesday.
It is expected to be an incredibly strong lineup for the Knights later, while it could be the last chance for young stud Cody Glass to try and stake a claim for a spot on the opening night roster, while there are three rookie defensemen still slugging it out for the final berth on the blueline.
But, other than that, expect to see a slew of established stars and veterans take to the ice against the Kings as they attempt to get locked in ahead of the new season. It should be the same for LA, too, who will be playing in their final game of the preseason tonight.
More from Vegas Hockey Knight
- The moment the Vegas Golden Knights have been waiting for
- 3 Golden Knights players deserving of the Conn Smythe Trophy
- If Golden Knights win Stanley Cup, who should Mark Stone pass it to first?
- Why are Vegas Golden Knights fans obsessed with flamingos?
- Just one more game for Golden Knight supremacy
It isn’t clear as to whether or not Shea Theodore will feature tonight after he left Wednesday’s game against the Colorado Avalanche at the end of the second period. The injury wasn’t thought to be serious, however, but it is still the preseason so the Vegas coaching staff may decide not to risk their stud defenseman tonight.
Zach Whitecloud also left the second period hurt against the Avs and he is considered to be week-to-week, so it is almost certain that the rookie blueliner won’t be on the lineup card tonight. Forward Ryan Reaves, who picked up an injury during summer workouts, has been back on the ice in a red jersey this week but tonight’s game may come too soon for the enforcer.
What we do know is that Marc-Andre Fleury will get the start between the pipes tonight for his second game of the preseason. He stopped 28 of the 29 shots fired at him in the win against the San Jose Sharks last week, and this weekend will be important for Fleury in terms of making sure he’s sharp and dialled in for the regular season.
According to Jesse Granger at The Athletic, here were the line rushes at morning practice earlier today:
Marchessault-Karlsson-Smith
Pacioretty-Stastny-Stone
Zykov-Eakin-Tuch
Carrier-Nosek-Kolesar
That lineup could be what we see on opening night with one exception; Ryan Reaves returning from injury to replace Keegan Kolesar on the fourth line. It is a very strong lineup and, although the result won’t count tonight, what will matter is players finding their groove and settling into the tempo of the game.
And the lines at morning practice today also confirms that Head Coach Gerard Gallant fully intends to stick to his word by not tinkering with his top six line and stick with what works. It appears that Jonathan Marchessault, William Karlsson and Reilly Smith will remain intact as a line, and a second line of Max Pacioretty, Paul Stastny and Mark Stone spells danger for the rest of the NHL.
Next. What now for the rookie defensemen?. dark
The Vegas Golden Knights are 4-1 going into tonight’s game after being outplayed by the Colorado Avalanche in a 4-1 defeat on Wednesday, and tonight’s game will represent as close to a replica of a regular season game as you will get in the preseason.
Opening faceoff is at 7:00 p.m. PT and Vegas fans can catch the game locally on KTNV Channel 13 and FOX Sports Radio 98.9/1340.