Golden Knights Gameday 43: Back From Break: Lines and Notes vs Panthers

The Vegas Golden Knights (27-13-2, 56 points) will return from a four-day break from game action Thursday to take on the Florida Panthers (19-19-4, 42 points) at home. This is game three of a current season-high VGK seven-game homestand. 

No lineup changes are expected for the VGK other than Adin Hill starting in goal.

After an 122 point season last year, the Panthers are dwindling with a near-.500 record despite having superstars like Alexander Barkov, Matthew Tkachuk, and Aaron Ekblad. The Panthers have still never won a game at T-Mobile Arena with a 0-3-1 record.

What to Watch For

Ready to Go

It seems like it's been an eternity since the Golden Knight's last game, which was a 5-1 whooping against the Los Angeles Kings. After two days of complete rest and two days of just practice, the VGK are looking to get back into the swing of things.

"I think we had a couple of good days in practice, we needed it. Now let's get back to work, the schedule amps up until the (All-Star) break," said head coach Bruce Cassidy.

O from D

The Panthers' blue line is tied for the league in goals from defensemen with 25. Brandon Montour is having a breakout season with 34 points, and Gustav Forsling has 26 points. Former first-overall pick Aaron Ekblad has 16 points this season despite missing games dues to injury.

Killer PK

The Golden Knight's penalty kill has been dominant as of late, killing 19 of 20 penalties in their last six games, which gives the team a 95% kill rate. Former Panther Reilly Smith still leads the league in short-handed goals with four. He and Jonathan Marchessault face off against their former team tonight.

Projected Vegas Golden Knights Line Combinations

Paul Cotter- Jack Eichel- Jonathan Marchessault

Michael Amadio- Chandler Stephenson- Mark Stone (c)

Reilly Smith- William Karlsson- Phil Kessel

Will Carrier- Nicolas Roy- Keegan Kolesar

Nicolas Hague- Alex Pietrangelo

Brayden McNabb- Kaedan Korczak

Alec Martinez- Ben Hutton

Adin Hill/Logan Thompson

Golden Knights Special Teams

PP1: Stephenson, Stone, Smith, Eichel, Pietrangelo

PP2: Cotter, Karlsson, Kessel, Roy, Hutton

PK1: Karlsson, Smith, McNabb, Pietrangelo

PK2: Stephenson, Stone, Hague, Hutton

IR/Scratches

Shea Weber, Nolan Patrick, Robin Lehner/Brett Howden, Pavel Dorofeyev, Shea Theodore, Zach Whitecloud, Daniil Miromanov

Projected Panthers Line Combinations

Anton Lundell- Alexander Barkov- Sam Reinhart

Carter Verhaeghe- Sam Bennett- Matthew Tkachuk

Nick Cousins- Eric Staal- Eetu Luostarinen

Ryan Lomberg- Colin White- Givani Smith

Gus Forsling- Aaron Ekblad

Marc Staal- Brandon Montour

Josh Mahura- Radko Gudas

Sergei Bobrovsky/Alex Lyon

Panthers Special Teams

PP1- Tkachuk, Barkov, Reinhart, Montour, Ekblad

PP2- Bennett, Lundell, Lustarinen, Forsling, Verhaeghe

PK1- Bennett, Reinhart, Staal, Gudas

PK2- Barkov, Lundell, Forsling, Ekblad

IR/Scratches

Anthony Duclair, Patric Hornqvist, Spencer Knight/Zac Dalpe, Chris Tierney, Casey Fitzgerald

How to Watch/Listen

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