Vegas Golden Knights News

After alternating between Hill and Logan Thompson in their first two games, the Golden Knights will turn to Hill for his second consecutive start. Hill has picked up where he left off in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, recording a stellar 1.01 GAA and .964 SV% in two starts this season (2-0-0). The defending Stanley Cup Champion Golden Knights have been remarkable as a whole, outscoring opponents 12-3 en route to a 3-0-0 start to the season. Tonight, however, they are slight +104 road underdogs in a rematch against the team they defeated in the Western Conference Finals, the Dallas Stars. The Stars are expected to welcome star center Roope Hintz into the lineup for his season debut.

Howden has served his suspension for two-games for an illegal check to the head on Seattle's Brandon Tanev and will return to Vegas' lineup Tuesday vs. Dallas. The 25-year-old forward had an assist, 15 PIMs and a SOG through 16 shifts and 11:57 TOI in his only game played this season. He is expected to return to his role on Vegas' fourth line alongside Nicolas Roy and Keegan Kolesar.

Korczak was the No.41 overall pick in 2019 and has appeared in just 11 career NHL games since being drafted. He spent most of last season in Henderson (AHL), where he tallied 14 points (4G / 10A) in 50 games. Korczak will replace Alex Pietrangelo, who is day-to-day with an upper-body injury.

Pietrangelo was high high by a pick late in Thursday's win in San Jose. Pietrangelo will be held out of the lineup in Anaheim but is considered day-to-day and isn't expected to be sidelined long-term. Pietrbngelo's absence is always detrimental, but it hurts even more when the Golden Knights are already without Alec Martinez and Zach Whitecloud on the blueline. Kaedan Korczak will draw into the lineup for Pietrangelo.

Schmid was 9-5-2 with a .922 SV% and a 2.13 GAA in 2022-23 and will get his first start of the 2022-23 season Friday vs. Arizona. The 23-year-old netminder is only making his 19th career regular-season start but will be looking to build off his impressive postseason run last year, which saw him post a .921 SV% and 2.35 GAA in nine games played. He draws a great opening matchup against Arizona, who finished 2022-23 last in the NHL in shots per game (25.8) and 28th in goals for (225)

Rondbjerg was recalled from the Henderson Silver Knights (AHL) Thursday ahead of Vegas' game vs. San Jose due to the two game suspension to Brett Howden and the injury to William Carrier (upper body). The 24-year-old forward appeared in 13 games in 2022-23 for Vegas and failed to pick up a goal while collecting an assist, four PIMs and a -5 plus/minus. He is expected to line up on the Golden Knights' fourth line alongside Keegan Kolesar and Nicholas Roy.

The hit occurred midway through the third period of Tuesday's season opener and Howden received a match penalty on the play. Tanev did not return to the game due to what the Kraken are calling an upper-body injury. Prior to his ejection, Howden had played 11:57 and collected an assist while skating alongside Mark Stone and Chandler Stephenson. Mike Amadio and Paul Cotter are the most likely candidates to be prompoted to Vegas' second line in Howden's absence.

Hill was awarded a two-year, $9.8 million contract extension by Vegas in the offseason and will take the crease in their opening matchup of the 2023-24 campaign. The 27-year-old was 16-7-1 with a .915 SV% and a 2.50 GAA in 27 games played in 2022-23 before leading the Golden Knights to a Stanley Cup. He draws the tough task of the Seattle Kraken who were fourth in the NHL in GF in 2022-23 (289) and 20th in SOG/GP (30.5).

Whitecloud was hurt after receiving a hit from Colorado's Kurtis MacDermid in Vegas' preseason game vs. the Avalanche and is considered week-to-week after undergoing successful surgery on an area on the upper body. The 26-year-old was expected to be a big part of Vegas' defensive unit this season after collecting five goals, seven assists, 41 PIMs, and a +10 plus/minus through 59 games in 2022-23.

Lehner did not appear in 2022-23 for Vegas due to hip and back injuries and is expected to start the 2023-24 season on the Long-Term Injured Reserve due to hip surgery. The 32-year-old goaltender last appeared for Vegas in 2021-22 and posted a 23-17-2 record with a .907 SV% and 2.83 GAA. He will hope to be back at some point with Vegas to continue his 12-year NHL career where he has appeared for five different teams (OTT, BUF, NYI, CHI, VGK).

Dorofeyev had seven goals, two assists, 40 SOG, six PIMs and a +5 plus/minus through 18 games with Vegas in 2022-23 and has signed a one-year, $825,000 contract extension. The 22-year-old left-winger made his NHL debut in 2021-22 but had a short two game showing where he failed to pick up any points. He is expected to make a full-time impact in 2023-24 as part of Vegas' bottom-six and is giving value to the Golden Knights after being drafted in the 3rd round of the 2019 NHL Draft (79th overall).

Howden had six goals, seven assists, 53 SOG, 55 PIMs and a +5 plus/minus through 54 games with Vegas in 2022-23 and has signed a two-year, $3.8 million extension ($1,900,000 AAV). The 25-year-old centre was a 2017 first-round pick (27th overall) and has 31 goals, 82 points and 120 PIMs through 279 career NHL games across five seasons.

Lavoie had 25 goals, 20 assists, 47 PIMs and a +10 plus/minus through 61 games played with Bakersfield (AHL) in 2022-23 and has signed a one-year, two-way contract extension worth $874,125. The 22-year-old right-wing was Edmonton's 2019 second-round Draft Pick (38th overall) and has yet to make his NHL debut.

Coghlan appeared in just 17 games for the Hurricanes last season, picking up three assists, 29 SOG and 11 hits. The 25-year-old will likely fill a similar role as the Hurricanes' No.7 defenseman in 2024 and will only see playing time when a member of the core blueline gets hurt.

Hill led Vegas to it's first ever Stanley Cup with an impressive 11-4-0 record in the playoffs to go along with a 2.17 GAA and .932 SV% and has earned himself a two-year, $8.8 Million ($4.9 million AAV) contract extension. The 27-year-old netminder enjoyed a strong but brief regular season in 2022-23 with the Golden Knights, posting a 16-7-1 record, 2.50 GAA and .915 SV% in his first season with Vegas.

Barbashev had 16 goals, 29 assists, 126 SOG, 42 PIMs and a +1 plus/minus through 82 games in 2022-23 with Vegas and St. Louis and has signed Ivan Barbashev to a five-year, $25 Million contract extension ($5,000,000 AAV). The 27-year-old centre has collected 84 goals, 194 point and 134 PIMs through 433 NHL games played.

Smith had 26 goals, 30 assists, 180 SOG, 16 PIMs and a +11 plus/minus through 78 games before helping to lead the Vegas Golden Knights to a Stanley Cup Victory and has been traded Wednesday for a 3rd round draft pick. The 32-year-old was an inaugural member of the Golden Knights after being selected in the expansion draft in 2017. The veteran right-winger joins the Penguins with 200 career NHL goals, 273 assists and a +124 plus/minus through 764 games played.