And here we go! Hockey is officially back and it all starts tonight as the Vegas Golden Knights host bitter rivals the San Jose Sharks at T-Mobile Arena in the 2019-20 season opener.
It is a glorious time to be a hockey fan right now and there isn’t long to wait until the Vegas Golden Knights pull the curtain back on their third year in the NHL, with their eagerly anticipated matchup against the Sharks one of four games tonight.
All of the preparation, all of the summer grind and all of the hope and expectation leads to tonight and it is a huge year ahead for the Golden Knights who are bang in the middle of their Stanley Cup window.
However, they couldn’t have asked for a tougher start to 2019-20 with tonight’s opener followed by a road trip to San Jose on Friday, a tough test against Stanley Cup finalists the Boston Bruins next Tuesday before rounding off a burdensome slate by facing the Arizona Coyotes and the Calgary Flames next weekend.
You can read our full breakdown of the opening slate of games and why it is such a tough opening period to the season here.
In terms of tonight, the Golden Knights confirmed their opening night roster on Tuesday and the biggest takeaway was Cody Glass’ inclusion, with the young phenom set to make his NHL debut against the Sharks on a second line between Max Pacioretty and Mark Stone.
Alex Tuch will be absent, however, with an upper-body injury and the forward is considered week-to-week, while Cody Eakin is day-to-day with an upper-body injury but he’s rated as doubtful for tonight’s tilt.
For the Sharks, they have been dealt a significant body blow with Evander Kane suspended for the first three games of the year following his meltdown on Sunday in the preseason finale against the Knights, which led to the power forward being ejected for “Abuse of the Officials.”
They will also be without defenseman Radim Simek (knee) and they will include four rookies in their lineup tonight – defenseman Mario Ferraro and forwards Danil Yurtaykin, Lean Bergmann and Dylan Gambrell.
Marc-Andre Fleury will get the start in net for the Golden Knights tonight and he’ll be looking to add to his 8-4-3 record and .937 Save Percentage against the Sharks. Two-way forward Mark Stone will also be key to Vegas’ chances of getting a win tonight, as will that dangerous top line of Jonathan Marchessault-William Karlsson–Reilly Smith who will be looking for a bounceback after enduring a dip in production last year.
With Evander Kane suspended, San Jose will be leaning on the likes of Logan Couture, Tomas Hertl and Timo Meier to shoulder a large portion of the offensive responsibility while Brent Burns and Erik Karlsson are absolute horses on the blueline and they pose a considerable threat on the power play.
Before tonight’s game, get in the mood for the return of hockey by catching up on some of our previous articles relating to the season opener:
- Cody Glass cracks opening night roster
- October is here, let the fun and games begin
- Kane suspended, less fireworks?
And let’s now dive into everything you need to know ahead of the main event tonight…
Date: Wednesday, October, 2, 2019
Time: 7:30 p.m. PT
Where: T-Mobile Arena – Las Vegas
TV Broadcast: NBCSN
Radio Broadcast: FOX Sports 98.9/1340 | ESPN Deportes 1460
Live Streaming: ESPN+ has a free 7-day trial that includes live streaming for this game on all your smart devices! Besides NHL games, ESPN+ features a selection of live games from MLB, MLS, Serie A, FA Cup and EFL. Get in on the action with Live UFC Fight Nights, 30+ Top Rank Boxing Cards, Grand Slam Tennis from Wimbledon, US Open and Australian Open.
Are you lucky enough to be attending tonight’s game in person? If so, head to T-Mobile Arena early to make sure you are part of all the fun with the Vegas Golden Knights starting opening night festivities from 2:30 p.m. PT, while players, coaches and local personalities will be walking the Gold Carpet at Toshiba Plaza from 4:00 p.m. PT.
So, you know how to catch all the action now so all that is left is to get hyped for the return of Vegas Golden Knights hockey ahead of their 2019-20 season opener! Make sure you stick with us for plenty of game-related content throughout the day.