The Golden Knights will have defenseman Jeremy Lauzon in the lineup against the Devils tonight, reports Danny Webster of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. He’ll need to come off injured reserve, something they have the roster space to do after sending Dylan Coghlan to AHL Henderson earlier in the week.
Lauzon missed 14 games with an undisclosed injury he sustained on Nov. 15 against the Blues. During that time, the Golden Knights haven’t shaken up their lineup at all. The group of Shea Theodore, Brayden McNabb, Noah Hanifin, Ben Hutton, and Kaedan Korczak has played every game since, with the veteran Hutton stepping into Lauzon’s shoes alongside Korczak on the Knights’ third pair.
While that streak will come to an end tonight, it won’t involve Hutton heading back to the press box. Theodore is day-to-day with an upper-body injury and won’t play, head coach Bruce Cassidy told reporters (including Webster).
Lauzon, 28, was acquired from the Predators in last summer’s Nicolas Hague trade. He’s lost some minutes in Vegas, mainly due to restricted penalty kill deployment, but has otherwise been a good fit alongside the up-and-coming Korczak. He’s posted four assists and a +3 rating in 17 games, controlling 52.3% of expected goals with his usual partner.
The 6’3″, 225-lb lefty is one of the league’s most judicious hitters, leading the league with 383 checks two years ago with Nashville. His 3.35 hits per game this season is a significant dip from his last few campaigns – likely due to Vegas possessing the puck more than the Predators did – but still leads his team.