Chandler Stephenson Named To All-Star Game, Replacing Matty Beniers
The Vegas Golden Knights will have another representative at the upcoming All-Star festivities, as Chandler Stephenson has been named the replacement for Matty Beniers. Beniers will not be able to attend because of injury.
Stephenson joins Logan Thompson (and head coach Bruce Cassidy) on the Pacific roster, and will be making his first All-Star appearance.
It’s a pretty impressive climb for a third-round pick who scored 55 total points through the first three seasons of his career (more than 200 games). After a trade brought him from the Washington Capitals to Vegas, and injuries gave him an opportunity to play with top-line players, Stephenson has never looked back.
Last season, in 79 games, he set career-highs with 21 goals and 64 points. Both of those numbers are in danger this year, as the speedy center has 11 goals and 44 points through 51 games.
Stephenson is averaging close to 20 minutes a night for the Golden Knights, is winning close to 60% of his faceoffs, and is a key part of both the powerplay and the penalty kill.
For Beniers, it is a disappointing result, given he was going to be an All-Star in his first full season. The Seattle Kraken will likely get another chance down the road, given how well he has acclimated himself to the NHL in such a short time.
Golden Knights Assign Three To The AHL
Ahead of tonight’s contest against the Islanders, the Golden Knights made a trio of roster moves, announcing (Twitter link) that they’ve assigned forwards Pavel Dorofeyev and Byron Froese along with defenseman Kaedan Korczak to AHL Henderson.
Dorofeyev has had three separate stints with Vegas this season but has seen limited NHL action despite that, getting into just three games where he was held off the scoresheet while logging just under 12 minutes per contest. He suffered an undisclosed injury three weeks ago but this assignment means that Dorofeyev has been cleared to return since injured players can’t be sent down. The 22-year-old was a top producer in the minors last season but has been a bit quieter in 2022-23, picking up six goals and six assists in 21 games with the Silver Knights.
As for Froese, he had been on his third recall of the month prior to this assignment and had been centring the fourth line during that stint. So far this season, he has a goal and an assist in seven games while winning 61.5% of his faceoffs. The 31-year-old is in the first season of a two-year, two-way deal and has been productive in Henderson with 27 points in 36 contests.
Korczak, meanwhile, has been up with Vegas on five different occasions this season, all within the last two months. Along the way, he has gotten into ten games on the back end for the Golden Knights, picking up a couple of helpers along with 25 hits while logging 17:34 per night. The 21-year-old also has eight points in 30 games in Henderson. He’s likely to continue to be one of the top recall options the next time a defender goes down or the team wants some extra depth.
Vegas Golden Knights Activate Shea Theodore, William Carrier
The Vegas Golden Knights have gotten some extremely encouraging news. Defenseman Shea Theodore and forward William Carrier have been activated off of injured reserve. Carrier has been out since January 14th, while Theodore last played in early December.
The news comes as the Golden Knights prepare to take on a formidable New York Rangers team. Theodore’s return gives the Golden Knights’ blueline a major boost. It’s been ravaged by injuries in recent weeks, and the return of Theodore will help take some of the pressure off of the defenders currently eating minutes for coach Bruce Cassidy.
When healthy, Theodore is the Golden Knights’ number-two defenseman behind Alex Pietrangelo. He has 22 points in 29 games this season and averages nearly 22 minutes per night. As The Athletic’s Jesse Granger reported, he’ll slot in next to Brayden McNabb on the team’s bottom pairing, while Kaedan Korczak will exit the lineup.
With Theodore back in the mix, the Golden Knights’ stable of blueliners is transformed into one of the stronger units in the NHL, and his addition will be a major help as the team looks to take the first-place spot in the Pacific Division from the Seattle Kraken.
While the addition of Carrier back into the Golden Knights’ lineup will come with less fanfare, it is a significant one nonetheless. The energetic winger, who was a member of the original Golden Knights squad from their expansion season, is in the midst of a bit of a breakout campaign. He’s already scored 11 goals this season and will slot in nicely next to Chandler Stephenson and Phil Kessel on the team’s third line.
The return to the lineup comes at an important time for Carrier, as he’s looking to sustain his hot goal-scoring touch. If he can find a way to reach the 20-goal plateau, he’ll set himself up nicely for when his current $1.4MM AAV contract expires at the end of next season.
Injury Notes: Bennett, Jarry, Golden Knights, Backstrom, Klingberg
Unfortunately, there’s a lot of minor injury news to report from tonight’s games. We start in Florida, where head coach Paul Maurice said pregame that Sam Bennett wouldn’t be in the lineup when they take on the Penguins tonight.
Bennett took an awkward fall in yesterday night’s loss to the Rangers, immediately leaving the game and staying in the room through the first intermission. It didn’t hold him out of the rest of the game, however, as he would later return. While he won’t suit up tonight, it does seem to be a short-term absence for Bennett, who’s been in and out of the lineup over the past month with some minor injury concerns. Eetu Luostarinen, who’s impressed with 10 goals and 22 points in 49 games this year, slides into the top six with Bennett out.
- After leaving injured reserve a few days ago, Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Tristan Jarry is back out of the lineup with an injury. His absence leaves both Pittsburgh and Florida without backup goalies on the bench for tonight’s game, as Spencer Knight was unexpectedly still unable to play and was a late absence from the Florida lineup. It’s hopefully a short-term absence for Jarry, who’s been spectacular with a .921 save percentage in 27 appearances for the Penguins this year.
- There’s some positive news on Vegas Golden Knights captain Mark Stone, says ESPN’s Emily Kaplan. While he’ll be out through the All-Star break as expected, his back issue is different than the one that plagued him throughout last season, greatly reducing the likelihood of his long-term career being affected. Kaplan also says defenseman Shea Theodore, who’s been out since early December with an undisclosed injury, is an option for Friday’s game against the Rangers.
- Days after returning from significant hip surgery recovery, Nicklas Backstrom is back out of the Washington Capitals lineup with a non-COVID illness and is day-to-day. The 35-year-old has three assists in seven games since returning to the lineup.
- The Anaheim Ducks will also be down a player due to illness: defenseman John Klingberg. 25-year-old call-up Colton White moves into Anaheim’s top-four in Klingberg’s absence, playing on his off-side. Klingberg has just 15 points in 40 games this season, a career-low as he’s destined for free agency once again this offseason.
Vegas Golden Knights Activate Brett Howden
The Vegas Golden Knights have activated forward Brett Howden from injured reserve, the team announced Tuesday evening.
The 24-year-old Howden is set to return to the lineup tonight against the New Jersey Devils, centering a line with Jonas Rondbjerg and Phil Kessel. He’s missed the last two months and 27 games with a lower-body injury.
Before missing the latter half of the season, Howden had just a goal and two assists in 21 games. It’s a step back for the youngster, who seized a more significant role last season when injuries struck the Golden Knights. In 2021-22, he matched a career-high nine goals and added 11 assists for 20 points in 47 games.
Howden is with his third NHL organization after the Tampa Bay Lightning selected him 27th overall in 2016. However, he never played a game for the Lightning, as he was shipped to the New York Rangers in the blockbuster Ryan McDonagh and J.T. Miller trade in 2018.
He is set to be a restricted free agent this offseason after his one-year, $1.5MM contract expires, but with continued poor production post-injury, he may not see a qualifying offer from Vegas.
Alec Martinez Suffers Undisclosed Injury Against Dallas
- The Golden Knights announced (Twitter link) that defenseman Alec Martinez suffered an undisclosed injury during tonight’s game against Dallas and did not return. Head coach Bruce Cassidy didn’t have an update on the veteran following the contest. Martinez has six assists in 40 games so far this season while chipping in with 141 blocked shots.
Golden Knights Recall Jonas Rondbjerg
With William Carrier being out with an upper-body injury, the Golden Knights needed to bring up a replacement. As Ben Gotz of the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports (Twitter link), that replacement is winger Jonas Rondbjerg who has been recalled from Henderson of the AHL on an emergency basis.
It’s the fifth recall in less than six weeks for the 23-year-old who hasn’t yet been able to establish himself as a regular in the lineup for Vegas. Rondbjerg has played in nine games with the Golden Knights this season and has been held off the scoresheet while averaging just over ten minutes per night. He cleared waivers back in training camp which is notable here as once he plays in that tenth game, he’ll require waivers to go back down.
However, that hasn’t been the case with the Silver Knights. Rondbjerg has ten goals and nine assists in 29 games at the minor league level, sitting second on Henderson in goals. He put up similar numbers last season with 14 goals and 13 helpers in 39 contests so it’s just a matter of finding a way to bring that to the NHL.
Vegas now has a full 23-man roster. However, if they need to free up a spot, they can do so by shifting Mark Stone to injured reserve with the veteran set to be out on a week-to-week basis.
William Carrier Out With Upper-Body Injury
- The Vegas Golden Knights will be without forward William Carrier tomorrow, as he has an upper-body injury that will keep him out against Dallas. Carrier seemed to sustain the injury late in yesterday’s tough loss against the Edmonton Oilers. He’s already set a career-high in goals, scoring 11 times in 43 games in largely a fourth-line role to provide important depth scoring.
Golden Knights Recall Byron Froese
The Golden Knights have made a roster move in advance of their game tonight against Edmonton, announcing (Twitter link) that they have recalled center Byron Froese from Henderson of the AHL. Vegas had two open roster spots so no corresponding move needed to be made.
The 31-year-old is in his first season with Vegas after signing a two-year, two-way contract with them last summer in free agency following three seasons in Calgary’s organization. He has made just one appearance with the Golden Knights this year (coming a week and a half ago) but has 117 career appearances at the top level over parts of five seasons.
Froese has been productive at the AHL level with the Silver Knights so far, collecting eight goals and 19 assists in 36 games. That ties him for the team lead in assists with Sheldon Rempal and gives him a share of the points lead with Gage Quinney. He will take the place of Mark Stone in the lineup with the veteran being set to miss some time; Froese will likely play on the fourth line while someone else moves up to take Stone’s spot on the top line.
Mark Stone Out Week-To-Week
The Vegas Golden Knights will be without Mark Stone for the next little while, announcing that he is week-to-week with an upper-body injury. That will scare a lot of fans worried about his back, but head coach Bruce Cassidy wouldn’t comment. As much as anything, Vegas’s return to contention has a lot to do with the play of Stone, who managed just 37 (rarely healthy) games last season.
Through 43 appearances this year, the 30-year-old forward has 17 goals and 38 points, and once again has taken his place as one of the best two-way players in the game. A lengthy absence will be a huge blow to the Golden Knights, especially given how close the standings are in the Pacific Division. Remember, Vegas led the division at this point last year too, only to fall out of the race and miss the playoffs completely by the end of the season.