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Golden Knights Gameday

Golden Knights Gameday 30: Down D v B’s: Lines and Notes vs Bruins

The Vegas Golden Knights will wrap up a three-game homestand Sunday afternoon with a game against the Boston Bruins at 5:00 p.m.

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The Vegas Golden Knights (20-8-1, 41 points) will look to tie the NHL's top team, the Boston Bruins (21-4-1, 43 points), in the overall league standings Sunday afternoon at 5:00 p.m. This is the second and final matchup of the season between these two teams. The Golden Knights became the first team to defeat the Bruins on home ice on Dec. 5 with a shootout win in Bruce Cassidy's return to Boston.

In terms of the standings, this is once again a matchup between the best team from the East and the best team from the West. The Bruins are 6-2-1 against the Golden Knights all-time.

The Bruins are coming off a rough late-third-period loss to the Arizona Coyotes on Friday. Jonathan Marchessault and the Golden Knights knocked off the Philadelphia Flyers in overtime 2-1 on Friday as well.

Despite playing Friday, Jack Eichel still remains a question mark for the VGK and is day-to-day with an injury. He appeared to pull something in his left leg against the Detroit Red Wings on Dec. 3. Eichel missed two games before returning against the Flyers on Dec. 9. 

Also out with a leg injury, Shea Theodore has been ruled out for the Golden Knights game v the Bruins Sunday. Theodore collided with Travis Sanheim in overtime Friday and had to be helped off the ice. Head coach Cassidy said the injury is "better than what it looked like."

What To Watch For

The Bear Has Been Poked

The Bruins will be in search of revenge against the Golden Knights, who ended their perfect 14-0 home record to start the season. They will also look to rebound after the Arizona Coyotes beat them Friday night, with Lawson Crouse scoring with 14 seconds left after a non-icing call.

This, and the game against the Golden Knights, tarnished another perfect record for the Bruins, that being their record against the Western Conference. The Bruins are now 10-1-1 against the West, with the games against the Golden Knights and Coyotes being the outliers.

Defensive Adjustments

The Golden Knight's defense will be without both Alex Pietrangelo and Shea Theodore for the first time this season. Without their two best defensemen, the VGK will be greatly tested on defense. Ben Hutton is expected to rejoin the Golden Knights lineup with Theodore now out.

Scoring Streaks and Stats

Two scoring stats that are worth note: Jonathan Marchessault, for the first time in his career, has scored goals in four-straight games. He is on pace for 33 goals this season, which is three more than his career high. He scored the overtime game-winning goal against the Flyers on Friday.

Will Carrier, who also scored on Sunday, is now tied for his career-high in goals with nine. The rugged fourth-liner is on fire, and one more goal will set a new personal record for him just 30 games into the season.

Projected Vegas Golden Knights Line Combinations

Chandler Stephenson- Jack Eichel- Mark Stone (c)

Reilly Smith- William Karlsson- Jonathan Marchessault

Paul Cotter- Jake Leschyshyn- Phil Kessel

William Carrier- Nicolas Roy- Keegan Kolesar

Alec Martinez- Zach Whitecloud

Brayden McNabb- Ben Hutton

Nicolas Hague- Daniil Miromanov

Logan Thompson/Adin Hill

Golden Knights Special Teams

PP1: Stone, Smith, Stephenson, Marchessault, Miromanov

PP2: Roy, Karlsson, Carrier, Kessel, Martinez

PK1: Karlsson, Smith, McNabb, Martinez

PK2: Stephenson, Stone, Hague, Whitecloud

IR/Scratches

Alex Pietragelo/Shea Theodore, Brett Howden/Michael Amadio

Projected Bruins Line Combinations

Brad Marchand- Patrice Bergeron (c)- Jake DeBrusk

Pavel Zacha- David Krejci- David Pastrnak

Taylor Hall- .Charlie Coyle- Trent Frederic

Nick Foligno- Tomas Nosek- Craig Smith

Hampus Lindholm- Charlie McAvoy

Derek Forbort- Connor Clifton

Matt Grzelcyk- Brandon Carlo

Linus Ullmark/Jeremy Swayman

Bruins Special Teams

PP1- DeBrusk, Bergeron, Marchand, Pastrnak, McAvoy

PP2- Foligno, Zacha, Hall, Krejci, Lindholm

PK1- Coyle, Nosek, Forbort, Carlo

PK2- Bergeron, Marchand, Lindholm, McAvoy

IR/Scratches

Matt Filipe/AJ Greer, Jakub Zboril/Chris Wagner, Mike Reilly

How to Watch/Listen

5:00 p.m. on AT&T Sportsnet, ESPN+ and Fox Sports 98.9 FM Radio.