The Golden Knights could shake up the lineup heading into their four-game series with the Arizona Coyotes.
Coach Pete DeBoer shuffled his lines at practice Sunday moving Tomas Nosek from his usual fourth-line center position to 3C with Alex Tuch and Nicolas Roy. Keegan Kolesar skated on the fourth line with Ryan Reaves and William Carrier as active participants.
Cody Glass skated with the fifth line/taxi squad, signaling a transaction may be coming for Glass to get a game off and defenseman Nicolas Hague to make his season debut Monday.
DeBoer did not give specifics as to who would partake in the lineup, but added “we’re considering all our options right now.”
The Golden Knights began the season with an unconventional lineup of 13 forwards and five defensemen, rather than the traditional 12-6. So far it’s worked with the Golden Knights sweeping both games against the Anaheim Ducks to begin the season; a 5-2 victory on Thursday and a 2-1 overtime victory Saturday that required a late rally.
Vegas was allowed this luxury based on who now patrols the blue line. Alex Pietrangelo, two games in to his seven-year contract with Vegas, leads the Knights at an average of 27:28 time on ice after skating a team-high 29:26 on Saturday. Shea Theodore was second at 27:09; Brayden McNabb had the lowest time among defensemen at 19:38.
If Hague does slot into the lineup, that should ease times for Vegas’ top two defensemen.
Glass coming out with Kolesar in is puzzling. Kolesar is waivers exempt, but is it enough to keep the former No. 6 overall pick out of the lineup? Glass has only registered one shot on goal in two games despite his line playing well from an analytical standpoint; Natural Stat Trick had the Tuch-Glass-Roy line at 11-0 in Corsi on Saturday after being outshot 6-7 on Thursday.
Kolesar was a minus-2 in 4:36 on Thursday and skated for 2:40 on Saturday.
There’s pressure on Glass to perform in his second full season. He has one assist through two games and it came on Tuch’s empty-net goal Thursday. But if you were hoping for a more traditional lineup taking the ice tomorrow, this might be your chance.
Silver Knights open training camp Monday
The hockey happenings in Southern Nevada don’t stop with the Golden Knights.
The Henderson Silver Knights begin their inaugural training camp at Lifeguard Arena on Monday. Vegas’ AHL affiliate is still on schedule to begin Feb. 5 with the Silver Knights playing in a realigned Pacific Division.
Three teams — the Charlotte Checkers, Springfield Thunderbirds and Milwaukee Admirals — are opting out of the 2021 season.
The Silver Knights will play their first two seasons at Orleans Arena while the Henderson Events Center on Paseo Verde Parkway continues construction. No fans, to start, will be in attendance due to COVID-19.
Players expected to take part in camp are Peyton Krebs, Kaedan Korczak, Jack Dugan and Lucas Elvenes.