Paul Cotter’s goal was to force the Golden Knights’ coaching staff to make a difficult decision. He succeeded.

The rookie left wing played in the Knights’ season-opening win against Los Angeles on Tuesday on the fourth line with left wing William Carrier working his way back from a mid-body injury. Cotter knew he needed to stand out to stick in the lineup once Carrier was ready to come back.

Early indications are he’ll play again in Thursday’s home opener against the Chicago Blackhawks. Cotter took line rushes on the third line in Wednesday’s practice with Carrier back in his usual spot. Right wing Michael Amadio, who played a team-low 9:46 in Tuesday’s win, is likely coming out.

The Knights also might make a change on the blue line for their second game. Defenseman Nic Hague didn’t play against the Kings after signing a three-year contract extension Monday. He arrived in Los Angeles late that night and didn’t skate with the Knights until Tuesday morning.

He was back in his spot on the third pair with defenseman Zach Whitecloud on Wednesday. Hague said Tuesday he was “ready to go” and learned about the Knights new defensive system through conversations with assistant coach John Stevens and his teammates.

His knowledge may be put to the test if he goes in and defenseman Ben Hutton slides out. Chicago will at least present an easy matchup. The Blackhawks, owners of the NHL’s sixth-worst record last season, started their year with a 5-2 loss in Colorado on Wednesday before traveling to Las Vegas.

Knights vs. Blackhawks

TV: ESPN

Radio: AT&T SportsNet (Cox 313/1313, DirecTV 684, CenturyLink 760/1760, U-verse 757/1757)

Knights record: 1-0-0 (43-31-8 last season)

Blackhawks record: 0-1-0 (28-42-12 last season)

Head-to-head: 0-0-0 (Knights 1-1-1 last season; 9-1-1 all-time)

Knights’ projected lineup:

Reilly Smith — Jack Eichel — Phil Kessel

Brett Howden — Chandler Stephenson — Mark Stone

Paul Cotter — William Karlsson — Jonathan Marchessault

William Carrier — Nicolas Roy — Keegan Kolesar

Alec Martinez — Alex Pietrangelo

Brayden McNabb — Shea Theodore

Nic Hague — Zach Whitecloud

Logan Thompson

Contact Ben Gotz at bgotz@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BenSGotz on Twitter.