Golden Knights Gameday 16: Back Home: Lines and Notes vs Blues

Looking to tie the franchise record with ten-straight wins, the Vegas Golden Knights (13-2-0, 26 points) return to T-Mobile Arena and play the St. Louis Blues (4-8-0, 8 points) Saturday night at 7 p.m.

It will be military appreciation night at T-Mobile Arena. The Golden Knights will wear special warmup jerseys, which can be purchased in an online auction during the game. Proceeds from Saturday’s game will go towards the Folded Flag Foundation.

Veterans and active military will also be honored during the national anthem with a “National Anthem Salute to Service” alongside Carnell “Golden Pipes” Johnson.

The Blues are coming off a streak of their own, having just snapped their eight-game losing streak against the San Jose Sharks on Thursday. Defenseman Justin Faulk leads their team in scoring.

Former Conn Smythe Trophy winner and Erie Otter Ryan O’Reilly has two points in 12 games.

On the flip side, the Golden Knights have everyone contributing, with nine players in double digits in their point totals. Jack Eichel leads the pack with 19 points in 15 games. He has 12 in his last seven.

No lineup changes are expected for the VGK. Paul Cotter tagged in for Michael Amadio against the Sabres and promptly put up a two-point night. Logan Thompson is expected to start.

What to Watch For

Tarasenk-show

With the Blues off to such a bad start, both Ryan O’Reilly and Vladamir Tarasenko, who are UFA’s at the end of the season, could be traded at the 2023 NHL Trade Deadline. With the Golden Knight’s center depth, I doubt they would even have an interest in O’Reilly.

But Stanley Cup Champion and six-time 30-goal scorer Tarasenko might get Kelly McCrimmon’s attention.

Vibes are Good

The Golden Knights are coming off a perfect road trip for the first time in history, on the cusp of tying a franchise record winning streak, and just saw their superstar player score four points in a period against his former team. It’s easy to say that things are going well for the Golden Knights. The vibes are good.

But sometimes, with winning streaks, teams can lose focus of their systems and start to presume that they will find ways to win again. The Golden Knights need to stick to head coach Bruce Cassidy’s systems Saturday against the Blues.

They are going to have to lose a game sooner rather than later, as an 80-2 season is simply impossible.

Jordan Binnington

If there is one goalie in the league, opposing teams need to watch out for, not just as an obstacle for pucks but as a hot-headed player who likes to stir things up, it’s Jordan Binnington.

Projected Vegas Golden Knights Line Combinations

Chandler Stephenson- Jack Eichel– Mark Stone (c)

Jonathan Marchessault- William Karlsson– Reilly Smith

Paul Cotter- Brett Howden- Phil Kessel

William Carrier- Nicolas Roy- Keegan Kolesar

Alec Martinez- Alex Pietrangelo

Brayden McNabb- Shea Theodore

Nicolas Hague- Zach Whitecloud

Adin Hill/Logan Thompson

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

Laurent Brossoit/Michael Amadio, Jake Leschyshyn, Ben Hutton

Projected Blues Line Combinations

Pavel Buchnevich- Robert Thomas- Vladamir Tarasenko

Brandon Saad- Ryan O’Reilly- Josh Leivo

Ivan Barbashev- Brayden Schenn- Jordan Kyrou

Nikita Alexandrov- Noel Acciari- Tyler Pitlick

Nick Leddy- Colton Parayko

Torey Krug- Justin Faulk

Calle Rosen- Niko Mikkola

Jordan Binnington/Thomas Greiss

Blues Special Teams

PP1- Acciari, O’Reilly, Schenn, Krug, Tarasenko

PP2- Buchnevich, Barbashev, Kyrou, Faulk, Thomas

PK1- O’Reilly, Acciari, Leddy, Parayko

PK2- Thomas, Buchnevich, Faulk, Mikkola

IR/Scratches

Scott Perunovich, Marco Scandella, Logan Brown, Robert Bortuzzo/Nathan Walker, Alexey Toropchenko, Tyler Tucker

How to Watch/Listen

7:00 p.m. on AT&T Sportsnet, ESPN+, and Fox Sports 98.9 FM Radio.