Golden Knights Notes: Stone, Theodore, McNabb
The Vegas Golden Knights appear to finally be getting healthy at exactly the right time as they begin their second round best of seven series against the Edmonton Oilers. Vegas announced today that forward Mark Stone would be in the lineup tonight after leaving practice yesterday in discomfort. Vegas fans held their collective breath for Stone, especially considering the Golden Knights captain had only returned to the Vegas lineup in game one of their first round series against the Winnipeg Jets.
Stone showed no ill effects of his injury as he was dominant against the Jets putting up three goals and eight points in just five games. He appeared to have returned to form in that series which was a pleasant surprise given the injuries he has dealt with over the past couple of seasons. Stone missed almost half of the regular season this year playing just 43 games. Despite missing 39 games Stone was still able to post 17 goals and 21 assists this season.
In other Vegas Golden Knights news:
- It appears defenseman Shea Theodore will be returning to the Vegas lineup. TSN is reporting that head coach Butch Cassidy said Theodore would be in the lineup for game one against the Oilers. The Langley native was sidelined with in illness for game five of the Golden Knights series against Winnipeg but appears to have gotten over whatever was ailing him. Theodore was strong in four games of the first round series as he posted three assists and six shots on goal.
- Brayden McNabb also appears to be drawing back into the Vegas lineup. McNabb also did not dress in the Golden Knights series clinching game five victory against Winnipeg as he was sidelined with an upper body injury. TSN is reporting that Cassidy included McNabb as one of the players who would be back in the lineup tonight for Vegas. McNabb was pointless in the first four games of the playoffs and missed just the one game. He dressed in all 82 regular season games this year putting up a single goal while adding 16 assists.
PHR Playoff Primer: Vegas Golden Knights vs Edmonton Oilers
With the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs now underway, PHR makes its first foray into playoff series analysis with our 2023 Playoff Primers. Where does each team stand in their series, and what storylines could dominate on and off the ice? We continue our Second Round coverage with the Pacific Division matchup between the Vegas Golden Knights and Edmonton Oilers.
Not much separated the Vegas Golden Knights and Edmonton Oilers in the regular season. Both teams battled to the very end to determine the winner of the Pacific Division, with Vegas finally emerging and finishing just two points ahead of their division rival.
Though they ended up at the top of the division, it was not an easy ride for either team this season. The Golden Knights had to overcome many significant injuries, including Robin Lehner, their starting goaltender, missing the entire season, Mark Stone, an exceptional two-way winger missing the second half of the season and top defenseman Shea Theodore missing significant time in the middle of the season with injury as well.
The Oilers didn’t have the same injury troubles, though Evander Kane missed half the season after having his wrist cut by a skate blade. Their adversity was more about past issues coming back to haunt them. Those issues were goaltending problems as Jack Campbell struggled all season after signing a five-year contract with a $5MM cap hit. The defense seemed to be a bit too offensive minded as well and were not able to shut things down well enough to be a serious Stanley Cup contender.
Regular Season Performance
Vegas: 51-22-9, 111 points, +43 goal differential
Florida: 50-23-9, 109 points, +65 goal differential
Head-To-Head
November 19, 2022: Edmonton 4, Vegas 3 (OT)
January 14, 2023: Edmonton 4, Vegas 3
March 25, 2023: Vegas 4, Edmonton 3 (OT)
March 28, 2023: Edmonton 7, Vegas 4
Edmonton takes season series 3-0-1
Team Storylines
The Oilers seemed to flip a switch at the trade deadline and put all those past defensive issues in the rearview mirror. There were two main reasons for this team finally looking like a sound defensive team as well as an elite offensive team instead of a one-dimensional squad that we have seen in the past.
First, they acquired Mattias Ekholm from the Nashville Predators at the trade deadline and he immediately became their best defensive defenseman as well as their top defender on the penalty kill. He eats up a ton of minutes and plays against the other teams best players while putting up points and ensuring the opposition stays off the scoresheet.
Secondly, the Oilers finally started to rely more on goaltender Stuart Skinner late in the season instead of Campbell. While Campbell’s contract would suggest he is their top guy, Skinner played extremely well down the stretch, starting 16 of the team’s final 21 games and posting a 2.43 GAA and a .920 SV%.
Skinner didn’t quite continue that performance in round one against the Los Angeles Kings as he posted a GAA near 3.50 as well as a .890 SV%. He is going to need to be closer to his regular season numbers if the Oilers want to advance to the Western Conference Final for the second consecutive season.
Also, the Oilers are an offensive juggernaut, but they leaned pretty heavily on just three players in their six game round one win. Connor McDavid has ten points, as did young defenseman Evan Bouchard and Leon Draisaitl led the team with 11 points. However, no one else on the team had more than four points in the opening round. That’s not horrible, especially since Zach Hyman, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Kane, Klim Kostin and Ekholm all had four points, but having a forward other than Draisaitl and McDavid score a point-per-game pace would give the Oilers incredible scoring depth.
It won’t be easy to score at will against the Golden Knights who lost their opening game of the postseason but then eliminated the Winnipeg Jets with four straight victories. They may not have an elite scorer like McDavid or Draisaitl, but they have incredible scoring depth that allowed them to quickly dispose of the Jets.
Chandler Stephenson and Stone led the way with eight points each in five games while William Karlsson, Jack Eichel and Alex Pietrangelo all had five points in the series. Add in Reilly Smith, Jonathan Marchessault, Theodore and Ivan Barbashev and the Golden Knights have scorers up and down their lineup as well as on their blue line.
The Golden Knights will lean on Laurent Brossoit in goal, giving each team a starter with very little playoff experience. Brossoit was solid against his former team, the Jets, in round one posting a .915 SV% and being good enough to outduel Connor Hellebuyck in the other end.
Prediction
Both teams have some inexperience in goal, and the ability to score almost at will. The Oilers have the top end guys while the Golden Knights have plenty of scoring depth, but putting pucks in the net will not be an issue in this series.
It should be a long series, but the defensive depth on the Golden Knights blue line may be the determining factor. Having to face Theodore, Pietrangelo, Alec Martinez and Brayden McNabb will give the Oilers depth players little chance to score while limiting their top guns just enough to outlast them in a long, back and forth series. In the end, home ice advantage in that last game may prove to be the difference.
Prediction: Golden Knights win in seven games.
Theodore Returns, McNabb Still Out
Missing what ended up being the series-clinching Game Five victory for the Vegas Golden Knights, it was reported that defenseman Shea Theodore was feeling under the weather significantly. Still, head coach Bruce Cassidy confirms he should be back for Game One of their second-round matchup (Tweet Link).
Only playing in 55 games for the top team in the Western Conference, Theodore scored eight goals and tallied 33 assists for the Golden Knights this season. During this year’s playoffs, Theodore played in the entire series before missing Game Five, putting up three assists in four games, and helping his team move past the Winnipeg Jets.
In more unfortunate news for the Golden Knights, it is still unconfirmed whether or not defenseman Brayden McNabb will be back for Game One in the division semifinals. Much like Theodore, McNabb also missed Game Five against the Jets, but McNabb is still listed as day-to-day, and will likely be a game-time decision before Game One.
William Carrier Returns To Practice
- Jesse Granger of The Athletic reports William Carrier is fully healthy and once again a full participant at practice for the Vegas Golden Knights. Carrier has not played since March 3 due to a lower-body injury. The 28-year-old winger scored 16 goals and 25 points in 56 regular season games for the Golden Knights, giving them scoring from a depth position in their lineup. Carrier will be an option in Game 5 as Vegas looks to eliminate the Winnipeg Jets.
Jets Injury Updates: Scheifele, Dubois, Ehlers
Injuries to important players have piled up at an inopportune time for the Winnipeg Jets, and could lead to a quick playoff exit at the hands of the Vegas Golden Knights. Down 3-1 in the series, 40-goal scorer Mark Scheifele left Game 4 with a suspected shoulder injury and is not on the ice at practice today, says Sportsnet’s Ken Wiebe. He’s not expected to play in Game 5 tomorrow night.
Scheifele, despite managing just one goal in the series, is a cornerstone piece of the team’s forward corps. With a mixed bag of news today on some other Jets forwards, his absence still means they’ll need miracle performances from depth players such as Vladislav Namestnikov and Adam Lowry to pull off an improbable comeback in the series.
- In even more concerning news, Wiebe also reports that Pierre-Luc Dubois was absent from practice today. The nature of his absence is unknown, as he recorded a goal in over 20 minutes of ice time in Game 4 and isn’t listed with any injuries. Still, if his absence from practice today is for any reason other than rest or maintenance, it could be a depth blow to the Jets, who utilized 23-year-old depth forward David Gustafsson in Dubois’ place on the first line in line rushes today.
- The team could see Nikolaj Ehlers back for Game 5, though. Wiebe reports Ehlers was a full participant in practice today, skating on a line with deadline additions Namestnikov and Nino Niederreiter. Ehlers hasn’t played since game 81 of the regular season on April 11 with an upper-body injury.
William Carrier Out Until At Least Game Five
Golden Knights winger William Carrier did not accompany the team to Winnipeg and, accordingly, won’t play until at least Game Five of their series, relays Danny Webster of the Las Vegas Sun (Twitter link). The 28-year-old has missed the last seven weeks with a lower-body injury but has started skating again, albeit in a non-contact jersey. Carrier had 16 goals and 133 hits in 56 games this season, giving them some impressive depth scoring inside their bottom six while his style of play fits in well in the postseason. Head coach Bruce Cassidy hasn’t yet ruled out Carrier returning in this series so it’s possible that he gets the green light to return next week.
Golden Knights Part Ways With Manny Viveiros
- Per a team release, the Vegas Golden Knights announced Manny Viveiros will be leaving the organization. Viveiros has been the head coach of the AHL’s Henderson Silver Knights since their inception in 2020. In their first year of existence, the team had a 25-13-1 record in a Covid-shortened season, and followed that up with a 34-28-5 record in 2021-22. The team struggled this season however, finished outside the Calder Cup Playoffs with a record of 29-38-5. Viveiros’ contract is set to expire on June 30 and it will not be renewed.
PHR Playoff Primer: Vegas Golden Knights vs Winnipeg Jets
With the start of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs upon us, PHR makes its first foray into playoff series analysis with our 2023 Playoff Primers. Where does each team stand in their series, and what storylines could dominate on and off the ice? We continue our look with the matchup between the Vegas Golden Knights and Winnipeg Jets.
The #1 vs #8 seed in the Western Conference is not going to be a walk in the park for the top-seeded Vegas Golden Knights. They were able to hold off the Edmonton Oilers and Colorado Avalanche for the top spot in the Western Conference, and while that gives them home-ice advantage throughout the first three rounds, it does not give them an easy matchup in any of those potential series.
The Winnipeg Jets were able to hold off the Calgary Flames and Nashville Predators for the final playoff spot in the west. A 7-3-0 run just before their final game of the season was enough to clinch that spot. Vegas was even hotter down the stretch, finishing 9-1-3 in their final 13 games.
Who can keep the hot streak alive for two more weeks and emerge victorious in a much tighter #1 vs #8 series than we are used to seeing in the opening round?
Regular Season Performance
Vegas: 51-22-9, 111 points, +43 goal differential
Winnipeg: 46-33-3, 95 points, +22 goal differential
Head-To-Head
October 20, 2022: Vegas 5, Winnipeg 2
October 30, 2022: Vegas 2, Winnipeg 1 (OT)
December 13, 2022: Vegas 6, Winnipeg 5
Vegas takes the season series 3-0
Team Storylines
Which Winnipeg Jets team shows up? We have seen a few different versions of the Winnipeg Jets this season. The first version was terrific, as the Jets were the best team in the Western Conference for the first half of the season. They started the year with a 29-14-1 record which put them fourth in the NHL on January 16 but leading the west. A couple of tough road trips to the east followed and a bit of a free-fall began in Winnipeg.
Between January 16 and March 20 the Jets went 10-15-2 to fall to the edges of the playoff race. Instead of talking about the top seed or even home-ice advantage, they were just scrambling to try and get in at all. Then they got hot again and finished the season 7-4-0 to get into the playoffs as the final wildcard seed.
So which Jets team do we see in the next two weeks? The best team in the west like we saw for more than three months to begin the season? The struggling team that showed up for about two months late in the year or the back-against-the-wall squad that was able to grind out wins in the final couple weeks?
Will Mark Stone return to make a difference? While the Jets were the top team in the west at some points, the Golden Knights were right behind them. The difference was the Golden Knights were able to remain consistent throughout the season, even while dealing with some huge injuries. One of the biggest injuries they suffered was to Mark Stone, a fantastic two-way winger who is capable of scoring at a point-per-game pace and is better defensively than offensively. He has been out of the Vegas lineup for the second half of the season and the team began the year 28-13-2 with Stone in the lineup. He was cleared for contact recently and could be back as soon as Game 1. If so, the team that finished the season at the top of the Western Conference just got a whole lot better.
Can Connor Hellebuyck continue late-season heroics? Hellebuyck’s season kind of mirrored the Jets season. He was fantastic for the first three months of the season, but then slipped a bit and did not have great numbers in January, February or March. However, he was able to recapture his magic late in the season and helped the Jets clinch a playoff spot with some spectacular play in their final handful of games. In his last ten games he had a 1.80 GAA and a .936 SV% to propel the Jets into the playoffs. If he can keep up that terrific play, the Jets will be in great shape.
Can the Knights find a reliable starting goalie? While the Jets have one of the NHL’s most reliable, and busiest goaltenders, the Knights had a hard time finding a consistent goaltender most of the season. Adin Hill and Logan Thompson played the most games for the Golden Knights this season in goal, and were steady as they each posted a .915 SV%. However, Hill was hurt over a month ago and has not played a game since March 7. Thompson has also dealt with injuries and has only played one game since February 9.
The Kings acquired veteran Jonathan Quick at the trade deadline but he doesn’t appear to have the same Stanley Cup winning magic he had a decade ago. Quick played ten games with the Golden Knights, posting a 3.13 GAA and a .901 SV% in that time.
It appears their starter could be Laurent Brossoit, who recently served as Hellebuyck’s rarely used backup for three seasons. Brossoit played most of this season in the AHL with the Henderson Silver Knights before being called up due to Hill and Thompson being injured. He played great down the stretch, winning his five April starts while posting a 1.59 GAA and a .946 SV%. Can he continue that hot streak into the postseason? Can he stare down his former teammate in the opposite goal and match him save for save? If so, the Golden Knights have a terrific chance of advancing.
How does Jack Eichel perform in first ever playoff series? Golden Knights leading scorer Jack Eichel is 26 years old and has had a great career so far, but he will suit up for his first ever playoff game when this series begins. He has scored 446 points in 476 career regular season games, but the playoffs are a different entity.
Whose depth proves to be greater? While Eichel was the team’s leading scorer, he only had 66 points. He did also only play 67 games so it was a great season for him, but there are no Art Ross Trophy candidates on this roster. That doesn’t mean they can’t score, as they have plenty of depth with Chandler Stephenson, Jonathan Marchessault, Reilly Smith, Alex Pietrangelo and William Karlsson all scoring more than 50 points and Mark Stone certainly would have if healthy.
The Jets roster is built similarly. Kyle Connor had nearly a point-per-game season with 80 points in 82 games and Josh Morrissey, Mark Scheifele, Pierre-Luc Dubois, Blake Wheeler, Nikolaj Ehlers, Nino Niederreiter and Cole Perfetti can all contribute plenty of offense.
It will be a difficult task for both teams defensive pairs to shut down all three of the opposing team’s top lines and should lead to some depth players stepping up to play big roles in this series since neither team is leaning on just a couple of players to provide scoring. Both teams are set up for balanced scoring and it will be interesting to see if anyone can step up and score over a point per game in the series to give their team the edge.
Prediction
The prediction: On paper, the Jets look just as good as the Golden Knights, and they were at times, but they found ways to be inconsistent throughout the season. The Knights on the other hand were able to continue their winning ways even with key players out of the lineup for long stretches. The Golden Knights will outlast the Jets in a long, hard-fought series and win in seven games.
Mark Stone Activated From Long-Term Injured Reserve
The Vegas Golden Knights will have their captain in the lineup for game one. Mark Stone has been officially activated from long-term injured reserve and will play against the Winnipeg Jets tomorrow night. Stone told the media that he “feels really good and really confident” and is excited to return after such a long period away.
The 30-year-old winger last played on January 12, leaving the game after just four shifts as his back injury flared up. He underwent surgery a few weeks later, his second procedure in less than a year. Limited to just 43 games this season, he scored 17 goals and 38 points while still providing excellent defensive production. The Golden Knights were 28-13-2 with Stone in the lineup, and will now move into the postseason with their two-way leader back on the ice.
While there is no doubt that Stone has dealt with serious back issues the last few seasons, some will still point to the timing of his return as a problem with the league’s cap structure. The Golden Knights could not have activated him in the regular season, even if he was healthy enough to return, after using a large chunk of his LTIR relief. He can return without issue in the playoffs, with no cap ceiling, to try and help Vegas advance.
Now the question is whether he can be effective right away. Even though Winnipeg is a significant underdog, plenty of talented players could swing the series (Connor Hellebuyck, most notably). Vegas will need their best effort from puck drop, and it remains to be seen whether Stone can return to his usual level after such a long absence.
Golden Knights Notes: Hill, Thompson, Recalls
Having successfully gotten through his conditioning stint earlier this month, Golden Knights goaltender Adin Hill confirmed to reporters today (video link) that he has fully recovered and is available to dress for Tuesday’s series opener against Winnipeg. He has been out for more than a month with a lower-body injury and posted the lowest GAA on the team at 2.45 while contributing a .915 SV%. However, at this time, Hill isn’t sure if he’ll be dressing for Game One with Laurent Brossoit set to get the start against his former team. Either Hill or trade deadline acquisition Jonathan Quick will serve as the backup.
More from Vegas:
- Goaltender Logan Thompson has not yet resumed skating, relays Ben Gotz of the Las Vegas Review-Journal (Twitter link). The 26-year-old, who was the starter for most of the season and also posted a .915 SV%, has played just once in the last two months. At this point, it seems safe to suggest that he won’t be available to play in the first round at a minimum and with three other healthy netminders, even if he is cleared later on and Vegas moves on, it’s hardly a guarantee that he’ll be in uniform when the time comes.
- With AHL Henderson’s season now over and the Silver Knights not playoff-bound, the Golden Knights have made two recalls, per CapFriendly (Twitter links) as defenseman Kaedan Korczak and Brayden Pachal are back up with Vegas. Both players picked up two assists in ten NHL contests this season. Korczak also collected 14 points in 50 games with Henderson while Pachal collected 15 in 55 appearances. It wouldn’t be surprising to see other players recalled in the near future to comprise their ‘Black Aces’ group.