Golden Knights Gameday 55: Swimming With the Sharks Until We Drown: Lines and Notes vs Sharks

The Vegas Golden Knights (32-18-4, 68 points) are back after a three-day break from game action. They will play the San Jose Sharks (17-27-11, 45 points) at 7:00 p.m. inside T-Mobile Arena. No lineup changes are expected for the VGK, who are still missing Mark Stone and Logan Thompson to injuries.

This is the third of four meetings between these two teams this season, with both teams entering with a win against each other. 

The Golden Knights will wear special Black History Month jerseys that were designed, in part, by forward Keegan Kolesar.

What to Watch For

Scoring Drought Ends

After scoring just five goals in four games in the lead-up to the NHL All-Star Break, the Golden Knights have found their scoring swagger again. They have scored 17 goals in their last three games and put up seven against the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday. In that game, seven players recorded two or more points. 

Stars like Jack Eichel, Jonathan Marchessault, Chandler Stephenson, and Reilly Smith are also starting to come out of scoring slumps.

Timo Tryout

With the NHL Trade Deadline near, one of the biggest names out there is Sharks forward Timo Meier. The Swiss forward, who is set to become an RFA, has 52 points in 55 games this season. The Golden Knights are confirmed to be a team interested in trading for Meier. So keep a close eye on his play tonight.

Penalties and Powerlays

The Golden Knights currently lead the league in both the fewest penalties taken (359 PIM) and the fewest powerplays awarded (138). The team's powerplay has struggled as of late, going 0-for-their-last-18. They have not scored a powerplay goal since Phil Kessel did in Arizona on Jan. 22. 

“We’ve got to get our powerplay going for sure. That’s a big part of it. The powerplay can be so important, especially in some of the tight games. We don't really get a lot of powerplays; we only get a few. But with that, you got to be ready when you do have the opportunity," said Jack Eichel.

Projected Golden Knights Line Combinations

Paul Cotter- Jack Eichel- Jonathan Marchessault

Reilly Smith- William Karlsson- Michael Amadio

Will Carrier- Chandler Stephenson- Phil Kessel

Brett Howden- Nicolas Roy- Keegan Kolesar

Alec Martinez- Alex Pietrangelo

Brayden McNabb- Shea Theodore

Nicolas Hague- Zach Whitecloud

Adin Hill/Laurent Brossoit

Golden Knights Special Teams

PP1: Stephenson, Marchessault, Roy, Eichel, Pietrangelo

PP2: Carrier, Karlsson, Kessel, Smith, Theodore

PK1: Karlsson, Smith, McNabb, Pietrangelo

PK2: Stephenson, Roy, Whitecloud, Martinez

IR/Scratches

Shea Weber, Nolan Patrick, Robin Lehner/Mark Stone (c), Logan Thompson, Daniil Miromanov/Ben Hutton

Projected Sharks Line Combinations

Timo Meier- Tomas Hertl- Nick Bonino

Michael Eyssimont- Logan Couture- Alexander Barabanov

Oskar Lindblom- Nico Sturm- Noah Gregor

Evgeny Svechnikov- Steven Lorentz- Kevin Labanc

Scott Harrington- Erik Karlsson

Marc-Edouard Vlasic- Matt Benning

Mario Ferraro- Jacob MacDonald

Aaron Dell/Kaapo Kahkonen

Sharks Special Teams

PP1- Barabanov, Couture, Hertl, Meier, Karlsson

PP2- Lindblom, Bonino, Eyssimont, MacDonald, Benning

PK1- Couture, Lorentz, Benning, Ferraro

PK2- Strurm, Lindblom, Harrington, Vlasic

IR/Scratches

James Reimer, Markus Nutivaara, Luke Kunin, Jonah Gadjovich

How to Watch/Listen

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