Golden Knights Gameday 9: Nevada Day: Lines and Notes vs Ducks

The Las Vegas Valley is celebrating Nevada Day in the best way possible, with two hockey games at both the American and National Hockey League levels. To celebrate the state of Nevada’s admittance into the union, the Henderson Silver Knights play the Colorado Eagles (Colorado Avalanche affiliate) at 11:00.

Then the main event of the Vegas Golden Knights (6-2-0, twelve points) playing the Anaheim Ducks (1-5-1, three points) will start at 3:00 p.m. Both Knights teams will wear special Nevada Day and first responders sweaters. The HSK will wear them the entire game, VGK only for warmups.

Fans are encouraged to wear white to the Golden Knight’s game, as the VGK will be wearing their road jerseys at home to try and match some of Nevada’s official colors.

In terms of lineup changes, Keegan Kolesar (illness) is not expected to play. At practice on Thursday, Jake Leschyshyn was inserted into the lineup, and Nicolas Roy was bumped up. With today’s game being in the afternoon, the Golden Knights did not skate this morning, so we will have to see who is starting later.

What to Watch For

The Birthday Boy– Happy Birthday to Jack Eichel, who is currently tied for the team lead in scoring with seven points in eight games. He’s off to a stellar start. Expect him to do something notable, with today being a special game and all on his birthday, nonetheless.

Top Line Working– Speaking of Eichel against the Colorado Avalanche, he received two new linemates in Chandler Stephenson and Mark Stone. This line has simply been working. Stephenson’s speed plays off Stone’s takeaways, which plays off Eichel’s passing and skating. A deadly first line for Bruce Cassidy.

“He can hold onto the puck for so long and create ice for you, just kind of wait for you to get to a spot, and give it to you. We seemed to find that click right away,” said Stephenson on Eichel.

“He’s the fastest guy I’ve ever played with. Great skill. One thing is maybe he doesn’t shoot as much as he probably should,” said Stone on Stephenson.

In-Arena Festivities– If you plan on coming to tonight’s game, you’ll be in for a treat. A special matinee game on the Las Vegas Strip on a Friday night to celebrate Nevada Day with the best in-arena content in the entire National Hockey League? Oh yeah, this one should be a fun one.

Projected Vegas Golden Knights Line Combinations

Chandler Stephenson- Jack Eichel- Mark Stone (c)

Jonathan Marchessault- William Karlsson- Reilly Smith

Nicolas Roy- Brett Howden- Phil Kessel

William Carrier- Jake Leschyshyn- Michael Amadio

Alec Martinez- Alex Pietrangelo

Brayden McNabb- Shea Theodore

Nicolas Hague- Zach Whitecloud

Logan Thompson/Adin Hill

Vegas Golden Knights Special Teams

PP1: Stone, Eichel, Stephenson, Marchessault, Pietrangelo

PP2: Roy, Karlsson, Smith, Kessel, Theodore

PK1: Roy, Stephenson, McNabb, Pietrangelo

PK2: Karlsson, Stone, Martinez, Whitecloud

IR/Scratches

Keegan Kolesar, Laurent Brossoit/Paul Cotter, Ben Hutton

Projected Ducks Line Combinations

Max Comtois- Trevor Zegras- Troy Terry

Mason McTavish- Ryan Strome- Frank Vatrano

Adam Henrique- Derek Grant- Jakob Silfverberg

Max Jones- Isac Lundestrom- Brett Leason

Cam Fowler- John Klingberg

Dmitry Kulikov- Jamie Drysdale

Simon Benoit- Kevin Shattenkirk

John Gibson/Anthony Stolarz

Ducks Special Teams

PP1- McTavish, Henrique, Terry, Drysdale, Zegras

PP2- Silfverberg, Strome, Vatrano, Klingberg, Shattenkirk

PK1- Grant, Silfverberg, Klingberg, Shattenkirk

PK2- Lundestrom, Comtois, Fowler, Kulikov

IR/Scratches

John Moore, Sam Carrick, Urho Vaakaninen/Pavol Regenda, Nathan Beaulieu, Colton White

How to Watch/Listen

3:00 pm on AT&T Sportsnet, ESPN, and Fox Sports 98.9 FM Radio.