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Golden Knights Gameday

Golden Knights Gameday 34: No Jack: Lines and Notes vs Sabres

LAS VEGAS— The Vegas Golden Knights (22-10-1, 45 points) are in danger of having a losing home ice record as their most recent loss…

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LAS VEGAS— The Vegas Golden Knights (22-10-1, 45 points) are in danger of having a losing home ice record as their most recent loss puts them at 8-8 at T-Mobile Arena. Tonight they play the Buffalo Sabres (15-14-2, 32 points) at 7:00 p.m.

After taking a puck to the leg the other night against the New York Islanders, Mark Stone was at practice Monday and is expected to play. None of Brett Howden, Jack Eichel, or Shea Theodore were removed by the team from IR, and with the NHL roster freeze in motion until after Christmas, it looks like none of these players will play in the next few games.

This is game two of the season series against the Sabres for the Golden Knights. Their first game was a 7-4 in Buffalo, also known as the "Jack Eichel revenge game." The Sabres are coming off a 5-2 road win against the Arizona Coyotes and have won three straight.

What To Watch For

Don't Force Skilled Plays

The VGK have only scored four five-on-five goals in their last six games at home. Head coach Bruce Cassidy says he wants his team to start games similar to how they do on the road by not forcing skilled plays.

"You can't expect at puck drop just to come up and make a tic tac toe play. It's just not gonna happen against good teams. You might get away with it periodically, but most nights, you are not… So we're gonna keep pounding away on, and at some point, I hope the guys are sick of frickin losing in this building and that play the right way," said Cassidy.

No Jack

The last time the Golden Knights played the Buffalo Sabres, Jack Eichel went off against his former team, scoring a hat-trick and four points in the third period alone. But Eichel remains out with a lower-body injury and will not play against the Sabres in Vegas. So the VGK will have to adjust not only to not having their best player in the lineup but also not having that extra motivation to win for Eichel.

Third Line Improvements

The Golden Knights have been in search of a more consistent third line all season. Last game, the line of Jonas Rondbjerg, Jake Leschyshyn, and Michael Amadio had some strong chances and perhaps their best game of the season for all of them.

They will need to build off this game and potentially get a bonus goal for the VGK, as the three players have two points combined.

Projected Vegas Golden Knights Line Combinations

Phil Kessel- Chandler Stephenson- Mark Stone (c)

Reilly Smith- William Karlsson- Jonathan Marchessault

Jonas Rondbjerg- Jake Leschyshyn- Michael Amadio

William Carrier- Nicolas Roy- Keegan Kolesar

Ben Hutton- Alex Pietrangelo

Alec Martinez- Nicolas Hague

Brayden McNabb- Daniil Miromanov

Adin Hill/Logan Thompson

Golden Knights Special Teams

PP1: Stephenson, Stone, Marchessault, Smith, Pietrangelo

PP2: Carrier, Karlsson, Kessel, Roy, Miromanov

PK1: Karlsson, Smith, Martinez, Pietrangelo

PK2: Stephenson, Stone, McNabb, Hague

IR/Scratches

Zach Whitecloud, Paul Cotter, Brett Howden, Jack Eichel, Shea Theodore

Projected Sabres Line Combinations

Jeff Skinner- Tage Thompson- Alex Tuch

JJ Peterka- Dylan Cozens- Jack Quinn

Tyson Jose- Casey Mittelstadt- Victor Olofsson

Zemgus Girgensons- Peyton Krebs- Kyle Okposo

Kale Clague- Rasmus Dahlin

Mattias Samuelsson- Lawrence Pilut

Jeremy Davies- Casey Fitzgerald

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen/Craig Anderson

Sabres Special Teams

PP1- Tuch, Cozens, Skinner, Thompson, Dahlin

PP2- Peterka, Mittelstadt, Quinn, Clague, Olofsson

PK1- Jost, Okposo, Samuelsson, Dahlin

PK2- Cozens, Peterka, Fitzgerald, Pilut

IR/Scratches

Eric Comrie, Ilya Lyubushkin, Owen Power, Jacob Bryson/Vinnie Hinostroza, Rasmus Asplund, Jeremy Davies

How to Watch/Listen

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