Golden Edge Mailbag: Did Pierre-Edouard Bellemare bite P.K. Subban? — VIDEO
Send NHL writer Ben Gotz your Golden Knights questions and hot takes. Tweet him @BenSGotz or email at bgotz@reviewjournal.com.
“I’m sick of (defenseman Colin) Miller just constantly firing away from the blue line on every PP. Don’t we have a Plan B?” — @mitchtam (Twitter)
Miller is not the problem with the Knights’ power play.
The team was 3-for-35 (8.57 percent) in the 13 games Miller missed with an upper-body injury and is 2-for-12 (16.67 percent) since the offensive defenseman rejoined the lineup. His heavy shot from the point is a weapon on the power play because he can score with it or create rebound or tip opportunities for teammates.
Still, the Knights might have to switch things up because they’ve scored five times on their past 47 power-play opportunities (10.64 percent). For comparison, the Montreal Canadiens’ last-ranked power play is converting 13 percent of their opportunities.
But Knights coach Gerard Gallant said before Miller came back that he was reluctant to change his power-play strategy.
“We might switch guys in and out, like the same type of guys,” Gallant said Jan. 18. “That’s our personnel. That’s what we want to go with, and I hope it stays that way for a long time. As long as they’re working hard and getting some opportunities, we’ll keep working with it.
“There’ll be times I get frustrated and we might change some things up, but it’s not yet.”
“What’s with forward William Carrier?” — @dreitzer_mike (Twitter)
Carrier’s situation is interesting because when he was placed on injured reserve Jan. 7, Gallant said he was ill. But general manager George McPhee said in a news conference Jan. 22 that Carrier is nursing an undisclosed injury.
“He’s injured,” McPhee said. “That particular day, he wasn’t … (Gallant) thought he was sick.”
McPhee also offered no timetable for Carrier’s return, so there’s no telling when the bruising forward, who leads the NHL in hits with 219, will rejoin the lineup.
“Good … but I loved the original intro #VGK” – @TimAlbitz (Twitter)
The Knights debuted a new pregame ceremony Jan. 19 against the Pittsburgh Penguins, bringing back a sword and a stone that had been absent this season.
While the new pageantry is a little easier to follow than the team’s previous intro, which featured a relatively mild sword fight, its best feature is a video featuring owner Bill Foley. The 74-year-old has gotten cheers when his face is shown on the T-Mobile Arena videoboard.
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Contact Ben Gotz at bgotz@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BenSGotz on Twitter.
