Golden Knights Gameday 23: Glow Knights Glow: Lines and Notes vs Canucks

The Vegas Golden Knights (16-5-1, 33 points) will play their final game of a three-game homestand and the second of a back-to-back Saturday night against the Vancouver Canucks (7-10-3, 17 points) at 7 p.m.

This is the second meeting in six days between these two teams. The Golden Knights defeated the Canucks 5-4 on Monday in Vancouver. The VGK are 11-1-3 all-time against the Canucks.

The Golden Knights will wear their reverse retro jerseys for the first time this season. To play off the jersey’s glow-in-the-dark effect, fans in attendance will receive glow-in-the-dark rally towels.

Given that Adin Hill played last night, Logan Thompson is expected to start for the Golden Knights. He will get a chance to debut his new reverse retro pad setup.

Brett Howden remains out with a lower-body injury and is not expected to travel with the team on their four-game road trip out East, which begins on Monday. Based on practice lines, Jake Leschyshyn will slot in as the Golden Knight’s fourth-line center and take Michael Amadio out of the lineup.

What To Watch For

Look at Bo Go

Vancouver Canucks captain Bo Horvat has 12 goals in his last 12 games and is tied for the league lead in goals this season with 16. With the Canucks continuing to struggle, trade rumors around Horvat, who is in the last year of his $5.5 million contract, have started up.

The Golden Knights could use some depth scoring, given their issues on the third line. Horvat could be a trade candidate for them as we inch closer to the NHL trade deadline. Even if he isn’t, the VGK need to circle his no. 53.

Petro Power

With 21 points in 22 games, Alex Pietrangelo is on pace to crush his career high in points of 54, which came in 2017-18 with the St. Louis Blues. He has seven points in his last five games and has had four three-point games this season

It seems like he has finally adjusted to Bruce Cassidy’s new coaching systems.

Golden Knights defensemen have a total of 49 assists this season and 57 points in total, and only the trail the Erik Karlsson-led San Jose Sharks in this department.

Staying Disciplined

A thing that has flown under the radar this season is the Golden Knight’s success at staying disciplined. They currently lead the league in the fewest penalty minutes per game this season with 5:31 total.

The Golden Knight’s penalty kill is 22nd in the league at 76.92%. On the PK, Reilly Smith leads the league in shorthanded goals with three this season. Staying out of the box will be critical against the Canucks 27.1% powerplay, which is fifth in the league.

Projected Vegas Golden Knights Line Combinations

Chandler Stephenson- Jack Eichel– Mark Stone (c)

Jonathan Marchessault- William Karlsson– Reilly Smith

Paul Cotter- Nicolas Roy- Phil Kessel

William Carrier- Jake Leschyshyn- Keegan Kolesar

Alec Martinez- Alex Pietrangelo

Brayden McNabb- Shea Theodore

Nicolas Hague- Zach Whitecloud

Logan Thompson/Adin Hill

Vegas Golden Knights Special Teams

PP1: Stone, Eichel, Stephenson, Marchessault, Pietrangelo

PP2: Howden, Karlsson, Smith, Kessel, Theodore

PK1: Karlsson, Smith, McNabb, Pietrangelo

PK2: Stephenson, Stone, Martinez, Whitecloud

IR/Scratches

Brett Howden/Michael Amadio, Ben Hutton

Projected Canucks Line Combinations

JT Miller- Bo Horvat (c)- Nils Hoglander

Andrei Kuzmenko- Elias Pettersson- Ilya Mikheyev

Connor Garland- Curtis Lazar- Brock Boeser

Dakota Joshua- Nils Aman- Vasily Podkolzin

Oliver Ekman-Larsson- Ethan Bear

Quinn Hughes- Luke Schenn

Kyle Burroughs- Tyer Myers

Thatcher Demko/Spencer Martin

Canucks Special Teams

PP1- Boeser, Horvat, Pettersson, Miller, Hughes

PP2- Kuzmenko, Podkolzin, Mikheyev, Garland, OEL

PK1- Miller, Mikheyev, Bear, Myers

PK2- Horvat, Pettersson, Hughes, Schenn

IR/Scratches

Micheal Ferland, Travis Dermott, Tanner Pearson, Tucker Poolman, Phillip Di Giuseppe, Jack Studnicka/Sheldon Dries, Jack Rathbone, Riley Stillman

How to Watch/Listen

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