The Golden Knights’ blue line will get one step closer to full strength Friday.
Defenseman Zach Whitecloud is expected to jump in the lineup and make his season debut in the Knights’ 7 p.m. meeting at the San Jose Sharks at T-Mobile Arena. Whitecloud suffered an upper-body injury in the preseason that required surgery, so the last game he finished with his teammates ended with them winning the Stanley Cup.
The 26-year-old is eager to get going. He’ll begin on the third pair with veteran Ben Hutton, as the Knights try to avoid their first three-game losing streak in regulation since last January.
“Obviously, it’s never fun being out,” Whitecloud said. “Being able to be back with the guys and having some fun out there, it’s always a good feeling.”
The Knights have missed Whitecloud’s steady presence during a constant churn of defensemen injuries.
Alex Pietrangelo, Alec Martinez and Nic Hague have also missed games through the season’s first month, putting a strain on the team’s depth. Ninth defenseman Kaedan Korczak appeared in seven of the Knights’ first 14 games.
Whitecloud’s return means the group is one piece away from being intact again. Hague is still out with a lower-body injury, though coach Bruce Cassidy said he skated separately from the rest of the team Thursday.
The Knights could use a boost after not earning a point in back-to-back games since the first time since Jan. 16 and 19 last season. That was part of their last three-game losing streak in regulation as well, as they also lost to the Edmonton Oilers on Jan. 14.
It’s a feat this year’s team has no interest in repeating. The Knights, at 11-2-1, instead want to be the first team since the 2015-16 and 2016-17 Montreal Canadiens to win 12 of their first 15 games in back-to-back seasons.
“That’s not easy (losing) back-to-back,” left wing Paul Cotter said. “Obviously as a team, for us, we never expect to do that. It should give us a little fire, especially being at home before a road trip.”
Opposing the Knights is a Sharks team that’s been a disaster so far.
San Jose began the year 0-10-1 before winning its last two games against Philadelphia and Edmonton. The Sharks rank last in the NHL in goals per game, goals against per game and goal differential. Opponents have outscored them by 41 so far. No other team has a goal differential worse than minus-19.
It sets up as a perfect get-right game for the Knights before they play five straight on the road. It’s on them to take advantage of the matchup and San Jose’s tired legs, given the Sharks played the Oilers on Thursday night.
“They’re probably running on adrenaline tonight, right?” Knights coach Bruce Cassidy said. “I’m sure they have as much confidence now as they’ve had all year, so we’ve got to be mindful of that. What we need to do is, first of all, get tired of losing, right? I know it’s early in the year, but it’s two in a row. (Let’s) get that winning feeling back.”
Knights vs. Sharks (7 p.m.)
TV: KMCC-34, KnightTime+
Radio: KKGK (98.9 FM, 1340 AM)
Line: Knights -550; total 6½
Knights’ projected lineup:
Ivan Barbashev — Jack Eichel — Jonathan Marchessault
William Carrier — Michael Amadio — Mark Stone
Paul Cotter — William Karlsson — Pavel Dorofeyev
Jonas Rondbjerg — Brett Howden — Keegan Kolesar
Alec Martinez — Alex Pietrangelo
Brayden McNabb — Shea Theodore
Ben Hutton — Zach Whitecloud
Adin Hill
Contact Ben Gotz at [email protected]. Follow @BenSGotz on Twitter.
