The Golden Knights are back home with momentum after a successful Eastern Conference trip, and they’ll try to keep it rolling as they open a five-game homestand against the Utah Mammoth.
Vegas won three straight on the road and collected seven of eight possible points before returning to the Fortress. Puck drop is set for 6:38 p.m. PST.
The Knights are coming off a 4-1 win over the Buffalo Sabres on Sunday, a game that started with Adin Hill bailing them out early while Buffalo controlled the opening stretch. Hill kept it scoreless through the first period, then Vegas took over in the second. Mitch Marner scored shorthanded to open the scoring, Jack Eichel added the eventual winner, and Tomáš Hertl finished things off with two goals after Buffalo got one back in the third.
Carter Hart was the first goaltender off the ice and is expected to get the start for Vegas. He enters at 5-3-2 with a .900 average save percentage in 10 appearances this season.
On the other side, Sebastian Cossa is projected to start for Utah. He’s 4-1-1 with a .871 average save percentage in seven games played.
The Golden Knights’ projected forward group has Trevor Connelly with Jack Eichel and Mark Stone on the top line, followed by Brett Howden between William Karlsson and Mitch Marner. Ivan Barbashev, Tomáš Hertl and Victor Olofsson make up the third line, with Marc Gatcomb centering Nic Dowd and Braeden Bowman.
On defense, Vegas is projected to go with Jeremy Lauzon and Rasmus Andersson, plus Parker Wotherspoon and Dylan Coghlan.
Utah’s projected lines feature Anders Lee, Barrett Hayton and Clayton Keller up front, with Logan Cooley, Vincent Trocheck and Lawson Crouse on the second line. Jack McBain, Nick Schmaltz and Dylan Guenther are listed next, followed by Michael Carcone, Kevin Stenlund and Liam O’Brien.
The Mammoth’s defense pairing projections are Mikhail Sergachev with Mackenzie Weegar, Dmitri Simashev with Andrew Peeke, and Artem Duda with Nick DeSminome. Sebastian Cossa and Karel Vejmelka are the listed goaltenders.
Special teams could matter here. Vegas brings a power play that’s clicking at 26.3%, good for ninth, while its penalty kill sits at 76.5%, 19th. Utah’s power play has been dangerous at 37.1%, second in the league, but its penalty kill has struggled at 69.6%, 27th.
The matchup also comes with some history. Last season, the Golden Knights went 1-2-0 against Utah in the regular season and are 3-3-0 all time against the Mammoth in regular-season play. The teams also met in the first round of the playoffs, with Vegas winning that series in six games.
Jack Eichel leads the Golden Knights with 24 points in 19 games this season. Against Utah in regular-season play, he has two goals and six points in six games. Clayton Keller leads the Mammoth with 24 points in 18 games, and he has 10 goals and 26 points in 34 career regular-season games against Vegas.
There are a few milestones in play as well. Carter Hart will be facing the Mammoth for the first time in his regular-season career, and Sebastian Cossa will be seeing the Golden Knights for the first time.
Brayden McNabb is one point away from 200 career points. Shea Theodore reached his 600th game as a Golden Knight on Sunday against Buffalo, and Mitch Marner picked up his 100th point as a Golden Knight in that same game, doing it in 98 games to become the fastest player to reach that mark.
Vegas has been solid at home so far, going 6-3-0 at the Fortress. Utah comes in at 6-5-1 on the road.
In Other News...
Golden Knights Face A Cap Decision As Parker Wotherspoon Nears Return
Parker Wotherspoons return appears to be getting close, with the defenseman taking line rushes alongside Dylan Coghlan at practice as the Golden Knights continue to sort out their blue line. Wotherspoon has been limited to six games this season because of an upper-body injury, and he has yet to register a point in those appearances, but his presence at practice is a sign Vegas may be ready to bring him back into the lineup soon.
What remains unclear is how the roster math will work when that happens. The Golden Knights are operating with a tight cap situation, so activating Wotherspoon could require a corresponding move before he is available for game action, leaving one more wrinkle for the team to sort through as it prepares for its next game. [Read more 🡒]
Panthers Just Got A Needed Sign On Two Key Veterans
The injury picture around the Golden Knights has gotten a little murkier, even as the rest of the league sorts through its own roster issues. Vegas is already dealing with a defenseman in Noah Hanifin being sidelined, and the timing matters because the team has had to keep an eye on its depth options while other clubs around the league make their own adjustments.
Elsewhere in the division, Florida got a more encouraging update with veterans Aleksander Barkov and Brad Marchand back at practice, and coach Paul Maurice said both could be back in games within two weeks. For a Panthers team trying to steady itself early, getting those two back on the ice is the kind of development that can change the tone fast, even if the exact return dates are still not set. [Read more 🡒]
McNabb Is Closing In On A Milestone Vegas Fans Will Appreciate
Brayden McNabb has spent years doing the kind of work that rarely gets the spotlight but is always noticed in the room. The Golden Knights defenseman has built a reputation on toughness, leadership and a willingness to absorb the hard minutes, and his recent playoff run only reinforced that image after he battled through multiple injuries and still found a way back into the lineup quickly.
Now McNabb is on the verge of another marker that speaks to how long and how effectively he has played this role. He is closing in on a career milestone in blocked shots, and with more than 2,000 hits already on his ledger, he is moving toward a level of physical production reserved for a very small class of NHL players. For Vegas, it is another reminder of how much value he brings beyond the box score. [Read more 🡒]