LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — For the first time in two weeks, the Vegas Golden Knights are taking the ice at The Fortress at T-Mobile Arena. However, they will be without two key members of the team on Saturday night.
Head coach Bruce Cassidy said Shea Theodore and Alec Martinez have both been ruled out.
"Shea Theodore won't play tonight. He has an upper body injury. Martinez is out. We'll call him day-to-day but I'm going to guess it's closer to a week to 10 days by the end of it all, but who knows right now," Cassidy said. "Paul's in. Hutton's in. We'll move Whitecloud up with McNabb."
The team is returning after a five-game road trip where the team went 2-3. Going into Saturday night's battle, VGK is 14-4 on the season and is in first place in the Western Conference's Pacific Division.
McNabb said it's good to be home.
"Obviously, we have a good crowd, great fans and a loud building. It's a place we're comfortable at. I think it is definitely home ice advantage for us here. We just want to have a good start and just try to keep going with what we're doing," McNabb said. "Guys have done a good job of coming in and stepping up. We're fortunate to have the depth we have because at times like this, it goes a long way for us."
However, Keegan Kolesar jokingly said he could have kept going.
"I could have gone another week on the road there. It wasn't breaking me down," Kolesar said smiling. "I could have done the road trip backwards. I'm already packed and ready to go."
The team is looking to stay in the win column after defeating the Dallas Stars 2-1 in overtime. Cassidy said while there is room for the team to keep improving, he's "not losing sleep" over how the team is playing.
"I don't think we're poor in any area at all. I don't think we've hit our peak in goal scoring. I think our special teams are getting better. Team defense is solid. I think it's just our all-around game, most nights, is good enough to win," Cassidy said. "What happens when we don't? Do we not kill the penalty? Do we not finish? In Pittsburgh, it was a lack of finish. In Washington, it was a lack of finish. In Los Angeles, we weren't able to keep the puck out of our net. Consistent scoring would be the thing that's prevented us from winning but you can't expect to score four goals in every night in this league. If we can play our game and try to keep it to 5-on-5 tonight, it should benefit us."
The puck is set to drop at 7 p.m.