Tonight's game pits the struggling Chicago Blackhawks (9-10-5, 6th Central) up against the surging Vegas Golden Knights (12-12-1, 3rd Pacific), in the first game of a three-game road trip for Vegas. Both teams could have asked for better starts to their 2018-19 campaigns, but for much different reasons.
Vegas came into the season as the defending Western Conference Champions in their inaugural season. Since that time, they have undergone some roster reconstruction via free agency, trades, injuries, and suspension. To say their start was a little rocky, would be a severe understatement of the struggles the Vegas Golden Knights have experienced. Early on in their sophomore season, the Golden Knights found themselves in last place in the Pacific Division. Although it seemed bad, even at their lowest, Vegas was never out of playoff contention. There is a clear lack of powerhouses in the Pacific Division. Jump back to the present and Vegas finds themselves in a playoff position, albeit just 25 games into the 82-game season.
At the start of this season the Golden Knights were forced to play without the likes of Alex Tuch, Cody Eakin, and later on, Max Pacioretty. Pacioretty's injury came on October 26th and he battled back from his concussion, returning to the lineup on November 6th in Toronto. Eakin was promoted to the 2nd line in the very next game, due to the potentially season-ending injury to center Erik Haula. Eakin remains the center of the second line with Tuch and Pacioretty on his wings and boy, have they been great. Since their first full game as a unit, November 8th against the Ottawa Senators, they have compiled the following stat lines:
Cody Eakin – 4 goals, 4 assists, 8 points in 10 GP Max Pacioretty – 6 goals, 3 assists, 9 points in 10 GP Alex Tuch – 4 goals, 8 assists, 12 points in 10 GP
USA Today Sports
In their first game together Tuch and Eakin recorded assists, as Pacioretty continued working his way back into the swing of things. With the emergence of this 2nd line, the Golden Knights now roll three particularly strong lines, line two and the William Karlsson and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare lines. Vegas’ third line still struggles to produce, even with the recent call up of winger Daniel Carr and subsequent demotion of Tomas Hyka. Carr was leading the AHL in points at the time of his promotion to the NHL roster and insertion to the starting lineup. Carr has been playing since his promotion while Oscar Lindberg (healthy scratch) remains in the press box on game nights. UFA signing Paul Stastny and Haula also remain out for Vegas.
Chicago is 21 days removed from the firing of Stanley Cup-winning coach, Joel Quenneville. The man affectionately known as Coach Q is now the first name mentioned in talks of any current or potential head coaching vacancies in the league. He led Chicago to three Stanley Cups in a span of five years, from 2010-2015. In his vacated spot behind the bench is Rockford IceHogs (Chicago's AHL affiliate) former coach, 33-year old Jeremy Collition. This move was made essentially in a plea for a new voice, fresh start, and utilizing someone who can get through to the younger players coming into the Blackhawks' lineup.
With their superstars making top-dollar, Chicago has been forced to get creative with their bottom-six forwards and last defense pair. The likes of Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Duncan Keith, and goaltender Corey Crawford remain with the club, which means the Blackhawks still have some firepower, but behind their core, they are very limited. Crawford remains one of the more talented goalies in the league and can singlehandedly keep the Blackhawks in games, like Marc-Andre Fleury does in Vegas, but Crawford needs to stay healthy. He will be the starting goalie versus the Golden Knights this evening.
Both teams should be hungry for a win tonight. Chicago has struggled for most of the season and the Golden Knights are looking to reassert themselves as one of the elite teams in the Western Conference. The Golden Knights will be well rested, coming off a two-day break, following the latest back-to-back set of games on “Golden Friday… and Saturday in Vegas. Look for Vegas to try to jump on the home team early and score a quick goal in the first period. Maybe not as fast as their start against the Sharks on Saturday, a deflection off the leg of Karlsson 14 seconds into the game, but a quick start is sure to be a focal point for Vegas.
Tonight’s opening faceoff is scheduled for 5pm Pacific. Go ahead and take that early out from work. If you work swing shift, call out and tell your boss that the Golden Knights are going for their 5th win in a row. If that doesn’t work, the game will be broadcast on Fox Sports Radio 98.9 FM and televised nationally on NBCSN. You could also just grab your mobile phone and follow me on Twitter for updates.
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