Vegas Golden Knights: Have injuries just won Glass a roster spot?

Preseason is all about avoiding injuries but, unfortunately for the Vegas Golden Knights, they have suffered a couple of significant blows that will hinder their preparations for opening night.

Both Alex Tuch and Cody Eakin went down during the 3-2 loss to the LA Kings in the Vegas Golden Knights’ penultimate exhibition game on Friday, and it looks likely that both will be absent for the regular season opener against the San Jose Sharks on Oct, 2.

Tuch will definitely have to watch the 2019-20 season curtain raiser from the press box after sustaining an upper-body injury following an awkward fall into the boards during the second period against the Kings.

He is rated as week-to-week and it will be the second consecutive year that the wing has missed time at the start of a new season due to injury. Eakin, meanwhile, is considered day-to-day with an upper-body injury, although he could be ready to go for opening night.

Losing both players to injury so late in the preseason are significant body blows to the Golden Knights, but could there be a silver lining in the air?

And what could that be? Well, it is looking increasingly likely that a large portion of the Vegas fanbase will get their wish by seeing Cody Glass on the opening night roster.

Glass was exceptional throughout Training Camp and the preseason and at one point looked a surefire lock to cement the third line left wing role, although a quiet showing in the fifth exhibition game against the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday led to a healthy scratch on Friday and a seemingly certain path to the Chicago Wolves in the AHL to begin the year.

However, both Tuch and Eakin going down has forced the door open once again and Glass was centering a second line between Max Pacioretty and Mark Stone at morning skate on Saturday morning.

There are of course a flurry of different situations Glass could find himself in on opening night and we are going to break those down, starting with the outcome that looks most likely following Saturday’s practice…

Pacioretty-Glass-Stone

As mentioned above, Head Coach Gerard Gallant did what he said he wasn’t going to do by tweaking his formidable top six unit. Cody Glass was inserted onto the second line alongside Max Pacioretty and Mark Stone, with Paul Stastny being bumped down to the third line with Brandon Pirri and Valentin Zykov his wings.

Now, there is a positive to this combination which is the fact that Glass and Pacioretty showed incredible chemistry while playing with each other during the preseason. They quickly formed a lethal understanding and a couple of Pacioretty’s four preseason goals were thanks to Glass’ elite playmaking ability and his sublime vision when it comes to seeing the ice.

We all know that Pacioretty boasts a deadly release and a thunderous slapshot, so having someone with the ability to unlock a defense like Glass would only lead to more high-danger scoring chances for both Pacioretty and Stone.

Of course, the major downside to this potential outcome is the fact that you would split up Vegas’ potent top six unit and, as such, I have proposed some other possible scenarios.

Zykov-Glass-Pirri

Vegas Head Coach Gerard Gallant could opt to just swap Alex Tuch with Brandon Pirri and Cody Eakin with Cody Glass. It would prevent breaking up the top six unit and thus allowing the top two lines to wreak their usual chaos among opposition’s defenses.

Also, you could ease Glass into the NHL by having him on the third line and not burdening him with monster minutes, while he would have a pure scorer on his right wing next to him in Brandon Pirri who would no doubt benefit from Glass’ elite playmaking skills.

Of course, the biggest drawback to this line combination is the fact that it is an inexperienced line with Zykov not yet proven in the NHL and Pirri still trying to add consistency to his game in order to stick in the majors.

It could be worth a look on opening night and you could always bump Glass up to the second line and drop Paul Stastny down to the third if it doesn’t work out. After all, Stastny is a proven veteran and he has amassed 455 career NHL assists in 874 regular season games, which would certainly enable both Zykov and Pirri to elevate their own games.

Glass-Eakin-Zykov/Pirri

This is the final scenario and is entirely dependent on whether or not Cody Eakin is healthy come opening night. If he is, then you can stick the veteran back in his usual third line center spot, move either Valentin Zykov or Brandon Pirri to the right wing and then put Cody Glass on the left wing.

Glass was played on the left wing in the preseason so he knows what to expect, plus he would have an established pro in Eakin alongside him who could talk him through the game, in addition to taking on the responsibility of faceoffs and the defensive side of the game.

As for the right wing, the lineup on Friday against the San Jose Sharks suggested that Valentin Zykov had won the race to be named the Golden Knights’ third line left winger, although if Eakin isn’t healthy for opening night, then Head Coach Gerard Gallant could decide to go with the more experienced Pirri.

It would no doubt help to ease some of Glass’ nerves on his NHL debut having a veteran like Eakin next to him, likewise if he began opening night on the second line sandwiched in-between Max Pacioretty and Mark Stone.

Conclusion

It seems almost certain that Cody Glass will now achieve his dream of cracking the opening night roster for the Vegas Golden Knights, and Sunday’s preseason finale against the San Jose Sharks could go a long way to deciding where on the lineup card the young phenom is placed on Wednesday night.

If he does indeed start tonight’s final exhibition game on the second line with Max Pacioretty and Mark Stone, and performs well, then that could solve all the questions still hovering over the final makeup of the opening night roster.

That could change of course if Cody Eakin is cleared in time for Wednesday, in which case the original plan could be executed and Glass finds himself on the left wing of the third line.

Either way, after weeks of speculating, it appears a mere certainty that Cody Glass will now be on the opening night roster for the Vegas Golden Knights and that is something we can all get behind.