The Vegas Golden Knights will continue their six-game homestand with a matchup against the Detroit Red Wings Tuesday night at T-Mobile Arena.
The big news ahead of Tuesday’s tilt is that defenseman Noah Hanifin is expected to return to the lineup.
Hanifin hasn’t played since the season opener when he sustained an undisclosed injury. He has been sidelined over the last 10 games, and his presence has been sorely missed in all three zones. Hanifin returned to practice in a regular jersey on Sunday and is projected to be in the lineup tonight for Ben Hutton.
Colton Sissons, who was in a red no-contact jersey on Sunday, was back in a regular jersey at yesterday’s practice and is possible for tonight. For Detroit, Patrick Kane remains out of commission.
The Golden Knights are coming off a 4-2 loss to Colorado and have lost three of their last four games (1-2-1). At 6-2-3, the Golden Knights currently sit in third place in the Pacific Division with 15 points, trailing Seattle (16 points) and Anaheim (15 points).
The Red Wings (9-4-0) are in second place in the Atlantic Division after a fantastic start to the season. Goaltending duo Cam Talbot and John Gibson have provided a steady presence in net this season, with Talbot the likely starter for tonight’s game.
Talbot is 5-1-0 with a 2.76 goals-against average and .897 save percentage through six starts. He is 8-9-3 with a 3.22 GAA and .901 SV% all-time against the Golden Knights. He has saved 1.7 goals above expected so far this season, according to MoneyPuck.
Gibson hasn’t been as successful, going 4-3-0 with a 2.32 GAA and .875 SV%. As a member of the Ducks, Gibson went 6-18-5 all-time against Vegas, recording a 3.37 goals-against average and .905 save percentage. He has -1.3 goals saved above expected in his first season in Detroit.
Like Talbot, Akira Schmid is 5-1-0 with similar numbers, including a 2.73 GAA and .892 SV%. Carl Lindbom has been excellent in two starts but has yet to collect his first win, going 0-1-1 with a 2.50 GAA and .906 SV%. Schmid has -1.2 goals saved above expected, while Lindbom has 0.6.
Detroit captain Dylan Larkin leads his team in scoring with 18 points on the year, which trails Jack Eichel by just one point. Of Larkin’s eight goals, three have come on the power play and three have been game-winners.
Alex DeBrincat and Lucas Raymond both have four goals, with DeBrincat leading the team in assists with 11 and Raymond sitting third on the team in scoring with 12 points (after missing two games). Emmitt Finnie has been a very pleasant surprise for the Red Wings; he, too, has four goals, and he ranks fourth on the team with eight points. Finnie is a former seventh-round draft pick but is already making a name for himself. Mason Appleton and Moritz Seider are tied for fifth in team production with six points apiece.
Larkin leads all Red Wings with 12 points in 12 games against the Golden Knights. Raymond is second among active Detroit skaters with four goals and six points in eight games. Eichel leads all active players on the Golden Knights with nine points in five games.
Historically, the Golden Knights have struggled with the Red Wings, going 6-6-1 in the all-time matchup, including 3-2-1 at home and 3-4-0 on the road.
Last season, the two clubs split the season series, with both teams winning at home. Detroit shut out the Golden Knights 3-0 on March 16 before falling 6-3 to Vegas in Sin City later that week. Raymond scored in both contests, while Tomas Hertl recorded a hat trick at T-Mobile Arena.
This year, the Golden Knights’ power play has been absolutely abysmal since Mark Stone’s injury. Not only is it not producing, but it’s killing momentum. It’s somewhat perplexing given the level of talent throughout the roster, but the Golden Knights have been unable to fill that void (despite Bruce Cassidy trying different combinations). Cassidy thought that Eichel had some shooting lanes available to him when William Karlsson was used in Stone’s position by the goal line, so that could be an option moving forward.
In the first six games of the season, Vegas went 9-for-24 on the man-advantage for a success rate of 37.5 percent. Since Stone’s departure, the Golden Knights are just 2-for-19 (10.5 percent). The drop is astounding, and it has been a significant weakness in the Golden Knights’ game. In that span, Vegas ranks 27th in the NHL.
As a result, the Golden Knights’ power play has dropped to ninth overall in the NHL at 25.6 percent on the season, with Detroit trailing slightly at 23.8 percent (11th overall).
The Golden Knights are 15th on the penalty kill with a success rate of 80 percent, while Detroit’s shorthanded unit ranks sixth overall at 86.8 percent. The Red Wings’ penalty kill has been even stronger on the road (91.3 percent) than at home (80 percent), which will make life for Vegas’ power play all the more challenging.
But regardless of opponent, the Golden Knights have to figure things out on the power play. It cost them against the Avalanche, and it will continue to hinder their ability to collect points and gain ground in the division standings. One way or another, the Golden Knights must find ways to compensate for Stone’s absence.
They also need to get off to a strong start, something that has eluded them consistently.
Projected lineups
Golden Knights
Ivan Barbashev — Jack Eichel — Brett Howden
Pavel Dorofeyev — Tomas Hertl — Mitch Marner
Brandon Saad — William Karlsson — Reilly Smith
Cole Reinhardt — Colton Sissons — Keegan Kolesar
Brayden McNabb — Shea Theodore
Noah Hanifin — Zach Whitecloud
Jeremy Lauzon — Kaedan Korczak
Akira Schmid
Carl Lindbom
Red Wings
Emmitt Finnie — Dylan Larkin — Lucas Raymond
Alex DeBrincat — Mario Kasper — Mason Appleton
Andrew Copp — J.T. Compher — Jonatan Berggren
Elmer Soderblom — Michael Rasmussen — James van Riemsdyk
Simon Edvinsson — Moritz Seider
Ben Chiarot — Axel Sandin-Pellikka
Albert Johansson — Travis Hamonic
Cam Talbot
John Gibson
How to watch
Game 12 of 82: Red Wings at Golden Knights
Where: T-Mobile Arena — Las Vegas, NV
When: 7 p.m. PT
TV: Scripps
Radio: Fox Sports 98.9 FM
Statistics courtesy of Hockey-Reference and MoneyPuck.