Still suffering from an illness, defenseman Alex Pietrangelo will not be in the lineup again tonight for the Vegas Golden Knights, and will now miss his third game in a row (X Link). Furthermore, the report also indicates that Pietrangelo may not join the organization on their upcoming road trip, which would land his return date around April 2nd.
If the reporting is accurate, and Pietrangelo will be out of the lineup until April 2nd, it will become a massive hurdle for the Golden Knight’s playoff chances. On the four-game road trip, Vegas squares off against two teams currently holding playoff positions in the Western Conference, as well as the St. Louis Blues and Minnesota Wild, both of whom are currently trailing the Golden Knights in the standings by a few points.
Luckily, Vegas bolstered their depth on the blue line at the trade deadline, bringing in Noah Hanifin, who is more than comfortable holding down top-pairing minutes. Nevertheless, this road trip could define the Golden Knight’s playoff aspirations, as they look to correct their 7-10-1 record since the NHL trade deadline.
Other injury notes:
- In an update on two injured members of the Washington Capitals, Tom Gulitti of the NHL reports that the Capitals are hopeful that forwards T.J. Oshie (upper body) and Aliaksei Protas (lower body) will return to the lineup tomorrow against the Winnipeg Jets. As important members of the team’s top-six, and especially after the results of today’s matchups in the Eastern Conference, Washington will be well positioned moving forward to grab the last wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.
- Having not played since the team’s game on March 14th, it does not sound like defenseman Haydn Fleury will return to the Tampa Bay Lightning soon, as Gabby Shirley of Bally Sports Florida is reporting that even though he is considered day-to-day, the Lightning are not rushing his return. Brought in as a depth defenseman two years ago, the former seventh overall selection has scored one goal and four points in 21 games for Tampa Bay this season, averaging just over 16 minutes of ice time per game.