Golden Knights’ Paul Stastny is fan of power-play rule change
Golden Knights center Paul Stastny favors any rule change that increases scoring.
So he was happy to see that beginning this season the NHL will allow a team starting a power play to pick its faceoff dot. The league hopes the subtle adjustment produces an increase in scoring for the fourth straight season.
An in-depth look at @NHL rule changes in place for the 2019-20 season. pic.twitter.com/BQFtOGJ9eZ
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) September 17, 2019
“Something like that, it might give you a little more percentage of the puck in the offensive zone and create more offense,” said Stastny, who played on the Knights’ second power-play unit last season. “So, as a forward, you like that.”
Stastny pointed out the change could especially help the Knights because their two main power-play centers, he and William Karlsson, are left-handed shots. They’re more comfortable on the faceoff dot to the goaltender’s right and now can start there every time.
“If teams have all left-handed centers or only right-handed centers, (the change is) nice,” Stastny said. “Teams that have both, it really doesn’t matter.”
The Knights’ power play could use the boost — it ranked 25th last season (16.81 percent). Stastny, who won 59.4 percent of his power-play faceoffs last season, and Karlsson (46.9 percent) retaining the puck more should help.
“I like the rule because we’ve been trying to get more offense into the game for years,” Knights assistant coach Mike Kelly said. “It seems like a no-brainer.”
Ending the debate
The way to pronounce Knights prospect Nicolas Roy’s last name has been the subject of internet speculation, but the center set the record straight Wednesday.
He said it’s pronounced the French way: “Wah.” The Quebec native admitted he sometimes tells people it’s pronounced how it’s spelled because it’s simpler for them to understand and say, but it’s incorrect.
“It’s easier, because sometimes when I go places and they ask for my name, I say ‘(Wah)’ and they don’t understand,” Roy said. “I have to say my name is Nicolas Roy and then they understand. That’s why I say that.”
Odds and ends
■ Former Knights center Pierre-Edouard Bellemare did not travel with the Colorado Avalanche for Wednesday’s preseason game at T-Mobile Arena, the team said. The 34-year-old practiced Tuesday, but the Avalanche decided to bring a younger lineup to Las Vegas.
Bellemare also didn’t play in the teams’ first preseason meeting on Sept. 17.
■ The Knights placed third on ESPN’s rankings of the most watchable teams in the NHL because of their style of play and rowdy home atmosphere. The Tampa Bay Lightning were first and the Toronto Maple Leafs second.
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Contact Ben Gotz at bgotz@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BenSGotz on Twitter.