Golden Knights Gameday #17: Covid Concerns, Lines, Notes vs Red Wings

The continuous concern of COVID-19 has haunted the NHL’s 2021-22 season. Players all across the NHL have missed a significant amount of games due to the disease. The Ottawa Senators have to postpone three games of the schedule due to their own COVID concerns. For Vegas Golden Knights, they have not been able to avoid the virus either as both Michael Amadio and Jonathan Marchessault are currently in the protocol.

As a result, no media availability or morning skate was held for the Golden Knights today.

The Golden Knights will take on the Detroit Red Wings Thursday night, who have also had their fair share of injuries and COVID concerns as well. On Tuesday captain Dylan Larkin tested positive.

Update: Larkin received a false positive and will play Thursday night.

The result of all of these injuries and COVID-19 cases has given the opportunity for often-overlooked players to make an impact in the NHL. This has applied to the entire NHL, and the Vegas Golden Knights have had their share of some promising youngsters.

Last week we saw Paul Cotter, Jonas Rondbjerg, and Jake Leschyshyn all score their first career NHL goals. On top of this, guys like Ben Hutton, Michael Amadio, and Brett Howden have also had their roles increased on the Golden Knights roster.

Update: The Golden Knights have recalled Daniil Miromanov and Ben Jones from the Henderson Silver Knights.

Out of Brett Howden's way! pic.twitter.com/iP8OMJ3BfP

— NHL (@NHL) November 17, 2021

This will only continue with more guys being added to the injured reserve/COVID protocol list. Adam Brooks will likely get a shot in the Golden Knights lineup tonight.

Both Shea Theodore and Evgenii Dadonov left last game against the Carolina Hurricanes. No updates have been announced, so assume those two will be back in the lineup tonight.

For the Golden Knights, these injuries and COVID concerns could serve as a blessing in disguise. It gives head coach Peter DeBoer the opportunity to experiment with his lines and try out some new players.

Once guys like Jack Eichel and Max Pacioretty come back the Golden Knights will be well over the NHL salary cap. So if a trade is made on the forward end to free up cap space, it will be reassuring to the Golden Knights to know that they have the depth to replace whoever they might end up trading.

Keep an eye on Paul Cotter, he is my personal favorite to stay in the NHL once the Golden Knights get healthier.

PROJECTED VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS LINES

Evgenii Dadonov- Chandler Stephenson- Mark Stone

Keegan Kolesar- Nicolas Roy- Reilly Smith

Mattias Janmark- Jake Leschyshyn- Jonas Rondbjerg

Paul Cotter- Adam Brooks- Brett Howden

Nicolas Hague- Alex Pietrangelo

Brayden McNabb- Shea Theodore

Ben Hutton- Dylan Coghlan

Robin Lehner/Laurent Brossoit

IR: Jack Eichel, Max Pacioretty, Nolan Patrick, Zach Whitecloud, William Karlsson, William Carrier, Jonathan Marchessault, Alec Martinez, Michael Amadio.

PROJECTED DETROIT RED WINGS LINES PER PUCKPEDIA

Tyler Bertuzzi- Dylan Larkin- Lucas Raymond

Robby Fabbri- Pius Suter- Filip Zadina

Vladislav Namestnikov- Michael Rasmussen- Adam Erne

Sam Gagner- Joe Veleno- Carter Rowney

Danny Dekeyser- Mortitz Seider

Nick Leddy- Filip Hronek

Marc Staal- Gustav Lindstrom

Thomas Greiss/Alex Nedeljkovic

IR: Dylan Larkin, Jakub Vrana, Troy Stetcher, Mitchell Stephens

How to Watch/Listen: 7:00 pm, At&t Sportsnet, ESPN+, Fox Sports 98.9 FM