The Vegas Golden Knights are seeing a familiar opponent on Thursday. Like, they literally saw this team nearly two weeks ago. The Tampa Bay Lightning head to town, taking on Mitch Marner and Jack Eichel at T-Mobile Arena. Heck, even Carl Lindbom is expected to see the Lightning again.
Who'da thunk?
Anyways, the Golden Knights are looking for some revenge after losing in the last contest in overtime, 2-1. The offense was, well, abysmal, generating 19 shots on goal. Can they get more shots on the net tonight (especially High-Danger chances)? Stay tuned.
The good news is the potential revenge game is in Las Vegas. Fans know what the team's capable of at T-Mobile Arena. Last season, they were 29-9-3 at T-Mobile Arena, which was one of the league's best marks. This season? 4-1-0.
One can call that "business as usual." But Thursday's morning skate also had some noteworthy changes. Of course, this is in the line department. But it actually goes beyond that, specifically with a key player ready to break out.
1.) Mitch Marner and Jack Eichel get reunited on the Vegas Golden Knights' top line
Finally, Jack Eichel and Mitch Marner have returned to the top line, joining a surging Ivan Barbashev on the unit. Bruce Cassidy tested the trio out to start the season, when Marner had two points in the first three games. As for Eichel? Well, he had two goals and five assists in that span and is hoping for a little Marner magic.
The newly-extended superstar has two goals and one assist in his last five contests. Suddenly, the former second-overall pick has fallen out of the top five in points scored and needs the juice. Could that come in the form of his fellow "work from home" buddy?
2.) Brett Howden joining Reilly Smith and William Karlsson will be an interesting combination
Reilly Smith and William Karlsson have seen numerous wingers join them on their line this season. Now, they have a younger Brett Howden, who looks to get the rub from some established veterans.
The 27-year-old only has two goals to start the season, making it tough for him to climb to his 23-goal total from last season (a career-high). Could that translate into some puck luck on Thursday? Stay tuned.
3.) I expect Brandon Saad to have a big game against the Tampa Bay Lightning
It's easy to say that Eichel will have a bounce-back game against the Lightning. Everyone knows that he'll break through and put up two or three points. However, fans should also keep their eye on Saad tonight.
Yes, the winger has struggled immensely this season. It's gotten to the point where there have been calls for Saad to be bumped to the press box (hello, party of one). But the 33-year-old had a solid practice on Thursday. He was finishing and looked like he had a quicker stick on him. Plus, he had an assist in Tuesday's 1-0 victory over the Red Wings. Expect that momentum to carry over to Thursday's game against the Lightning.