Center William Karlsson will make his season debut, but defenseman Nic Hague will not be in the lineup when the Golden Knights face the San Jose Sharks on Saturday at T-Mobile Arena.
Karlsson will appear for the first time this season after being out since Sept. 21 with an undisclosed injury. The injury forced Karlsson to miss all preseason and the Knights’ first eight games.
He will center the third line with left wing Tanner Pearson and right wing Alexander Holtz.
“I like Pearson’s game wherever he’s been,” coach Bruce Cassidy said. “I like his ability to play on the walls and get the puck to people, so he’s got a center now that presents himself well.”
Karlsson’s return means center Cole Schwindt will come out of the lineup. Left wing Brendan Brisson will move to the fourth line — a move Cassidy hopes will get Brisson going in a more north-south game.
Hague has been deemed day to day with a lower-body injury that he suffered in Friday’s 6-4 win over the Ottawa Senators.
Defenseman Kaedan Korczak will go in his place and make his second appearance in three games. Korczak will skate with Brayden McNabb as he did Tuesday, with Shea Theodore moving back to the left side to skate with Zach Whitecloud.
With an off day Sunday, Hague will be re-evaluated Monday.
“Any time you can get in the lineup, it’s an opportunity,” Korczak said.
Goaltender Ilya Samsonov will make his fourth start of the season. He’s coming off a 34-save performance Tuesday in a 6-1 win over the Los Angeles Kings.
The Knights (5-2-1) are looking for their sixth straight home win against winless San Jose.
The Sharks (0-6-2) will not have No. 1 overall pick Macklin Celebrini. The center suffered a lower-body injury in his NHL debut and is deemed week to week.
Goaltender Vitek Vanecek will start for San Jose.
Projected lineup
Ivan Barbashev — Jack Eichel — Mark Stone
Brett Howden — Tomas Hertl — Pavel Dorofeyev
Tanner Pearson — William Karlsson — Alexander Holtz
Brendan Brisson — Nicolas Roy — Keegan Kolesar
Noah Hanifin — Alex Pietrangelo
Shea Theodore — Zach Whitecloud
Brayden McNabb — Kaedan Korczak
Ilya Samsonov
Contact Danny Webster at [email protected]. Follow @DannyWebster21 on X.
Up next
■ What: Sharks at Golden Knights
■ When: 7 p.m. Saturday
■ Where: T-Mobile Arena
■ TV: KMCC-34
■ Radio: KKGK (98.9 FM, 1340 AM)
■ Line: Knights -334; total 6
