Vegas Golden Knights: Reinforcements on the way back
There was some good news for the Vegas Golden Knights to digest earlier today after it was revealed that both Alex Tuch and Nate Schmidt are on the cusp of returning to action.
Vegas Golden Knights Head Coach Gerard Gallant confirmed the news after revealing that both players are a “week or two away” from returning, according to Jesse Granger of The Athletic.
That is fantastic news for the Knights who have felt the absence of both Tuch and Schmidt, although the latter’s loss has impacted the team the most given the set of skills he brings to the table.
Schmidt is a modern-day puck-moving defenseman who can help with the transition game, join the rush and pinch successfully, while providing offense and playing a role on the power play.
And, as good as Shea Theodore has been who is a similar type of player, the Golden Knights have struggled without Schmidt on the blueline since he sustained a lower-body injury in the 2019-20 regular season opener.
Without Schmidt, the defensive core as it is currently constituted has struggled getting out of the zone which has led to costly turnovers in a number of games, in particular the 4-3 loss to the Boston Bruins last week.
The bottom pairing of veteran Deryk Engelland and rookie Nic Hague has struggled, and there is no doubt that Schmidt’s return will help to restore some balance to the defensive pairings.
Tuch, meanwhile, has been out of action since sustaining an upper body injury in the preseason finale against the San Jose Sharks following an awkward tumble into the boards.
The forward, who also missed the opening chunk of the season last year due to injury, carved out a career-high in 2018-19 with 52 points (20 goals, 32 assists).
He is slated to play on the right wing of the third line and a combination of Tuch, Cody Eakin and rookie phenom Cody Glass could prove to be a potent trio.
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The Golden Knights have struggled with secondary scoring at times this year and there is no doubt that they will rely on Tuch to drive offense from the third line going forward.
Vegas are 5-3-0 through eight games and they will only continue to get better once both Nate Schmidt and Alex Tuch are available and ready to play again.