Golden Knights make 1 lineup change for Game 2 against Montreal
The Golden Knights will be missing one key player for Game 2 of their NHL semifinal series against the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday.
First-line center Chandler Stephenson did not take warmups with the team. Center Nicolas Roy was elevated from the third line in Stephenson’s place between left wing Max Pacioretty and right wing Mark Stone.
Stephenson has six assists in 14 playoff games. His speed has been a key asset between the Knights’ two best wingers. Roy has two goals and four assists in the postseason and had been clicking well with left wing Mattias Janmark and right wing Alex Tuch.
“(He) had a little bit of a slow season, but he’s back to where we expected him to be at the right time here in the playoffs,” coach Pete DeBoer said of Roy on Wednesday morning. “I thought he was one of our best players the other night against Montreal.”
Center Patrick Brown entered the lineup at fourth-line center to replace Stephenson.
The Canadiens made two lineup changes after their Game 1 defeat. Injured defensemen Jeff Petry and Jon Merrill came in and rookie Alexander Romanov and Brett Kulak came out. Petry finished tied for seventh among defensemen in scoring this season with 42 points. Merrill was a Knight for the franchise’s first three seasons before signing a free agent deal with Detroit in the offseason.
Here is what the Knights’ lineup looks like:
Max Pacioretty-Nicolas Roy-Mark Stone
Jonathan Marchessault-William Karlsson-Reilly Smith
Mattias Janmark-Keegan Kolesar-Alex Tuch
William Carrier-Patrick Brown-Ryan Reaves
Alec Martinez-Alex Pietrangelo
Brayden McNabb-Shea Theodore
Nick Holden-Zach Whitecloud
Marc-Andre Fleury
Here’s what the Canadiens’ lineup look like:
Artturi Lehkonen-Phillip Danault-Brendan Gallagher
Tyler Toffoli-Nick Suzuki-Cole Caufield
Paul Byron-Jesperi Kotkaniemi-Josh Anderson
Joel Armia-Eric Staal-Corey Perry
Ben Chiarot-Shea Weber
Joel Edmundson-Jeff Petry
Erik Gustafsson-Jon Merrill
Carey Price
Contact Ben Gotz at bgotz@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BenSGotz on Twitter.