Updates
Larkin is out of protocol and in Vegas
Trust me, Larkin as he skated by pic.twitter.com/uiIrLe1Yau
— Ted Kulfan (@tkulfan) November 18, 2021
Coach Blashill expects Marc Staal to be out tonight with a non COVID related illness. #DETvsVGK
— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) November 18, 2021
The Golden Knights will not hold a morning skate today. #VegasBorn
— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) November 18, 2021
So the Knights lose another body. Michael Amadio now going through NHL COVID protocols. That’s three Knights players out due to protocols in less than a week. #VegasBorn #8NN
— Chris Maathuis (@sports8) November 17, 2021
Projected Lines
RED WINGS
Forwards
Tyler Bertuzzi – Dylan Larkin – Lucas Raymond
Robby Fabbri – Pius Suter – Filip Zadina
Vladislav Namestnikov – Michael Rasmussen– Adam Erne
Joe Veleno – Sam Gagner – Carter Rowney
Defense
Nick Leddy – Filip Hronek
Danny DeKeyser – Moritz Seider
Jordan Oesterle – Gustav Lindstrom
Goalies
Alex Nedeljkovic
Thomas Greiss
KNIGHTS
Forwards
Evgenii Dadonov – Chandler Stephenson – Mark Stone
Keegan Kolesar – Nicolas Ray – Reilly Smith
Mattias Janmark – Jake Leschyshyn – Jonas Rondbjerg
Paul Cotter – Adam Brooks – Brett Howden
Defense
Nicolas Hague — Alex Pietrangelo
Brayden McNabb – Shea Theodore
Ben Hutton — Dylan Coghlan
Goaltender
Robin Lehner
Laurent Brossoit
Keys to the Game
Play Smart
Vegas is not a team known for beating itself often and has really been able to stay focused and within their system to find wins despite their injuries. Detroit was able to beat them last time by playing a relatively smart game, particularly early on when they built a 4-1 lead through two periods.
The Power Play
This is going to continue to be an important key for Detroit as their top talent is good but their depth is not, so they are going to need to depend on a potent power play to boost their offense and allow them to utilize their good defensive five on five play to win games.
Lean on the Kids
It has been the recipe for the fun start to the season for the Red Wings, and the play of their youth is going to be vital to win tonight against a tough Vegas team. This can be said if Larkin is able to go tonight but will be even more important if her cannot as one of Rasmussen or Veleno is going to likely slot into a top six center role.
