Golden Knights’ Bellemare stays with visor after Kane hit
Pierre-Edouard Bellemare was in the Golden Knights’ lineup Saturday for Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals against the San Jose Sharks after taking a cross-check to the face from Evander Kane in the third period of Game 1 Thursday.
Kane was given a one-game suspension for the incident.
Bellemare tested out a full face shield Saturday morning at City National Arena. But when it was game time, he opted for the regular visor he has worn all year. He looked steady taking his first shift and played the entire game without any issues.
“I felt fine,” said Bellemare, who played 11:30 in 19 shifts and had two shots.
“I tried it, but I decided this wasn’t the time to change to a full shield after playing my entire time with a visor. So I just stuck with that.”
Carrier approved ruling
Bellemare’s linemate William Carrier also was a victim of a head shot during the playoffs. Carrier had been hit in the head by Los Angeles defenseman Drew Doughty in Game 1 of the first round and was given a one-game suspension. He said the NHL’s Department of Player Safety got it right with suspending Kane.
“They’re doing their job,” Carrier said. “I think it’s good.”
Carrier played with Kane and Buffalo and defended his former teammate while sticking up for Bellemare.
“He’s not a dirty player at all,” he said. “He plays hard. It was one of those scrums where he got a little excited and caught Belly in the face.”
Carrier might get a call from player safety officials after he kneed Dylan DeMelo in the second period. He got a minor penalty despite Sharks coach Peter DeBoer protesting for a five-minute major.
Draft lottery spectators
A year ago, the Knights were active participants in the NHL Draft Lottery and wound up with the sixth overall pick.
Saturday, they were not involved in the lottery because they don’t have a first-round pick in this year’s draft, having traded it to Detroit for Tomas Tatar, who has been a healthy scratch in the last four playoff games.
Unless general manager George McPhee makes a trade to get back into the first round, the Knights won’t be on the clock until the second round. This year’s draft is June 22-23 in Dallas and Buffalo will have the No. 1 pick, which is expected to be defenseman Rasmus Dahlin of Sweden.
Sunday Sendoff
The Knights are hosting another send-off Sunday as the team heads to San Jose. Fans who want to participate can line up outside City National Arena by 12:45 p.m.
More Golden Knights: Follow all of our Golden Knights coverage online at reviewjournal.com/GoldenKnights and @HockeyinVegas on Twitter.
Contact Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913. Follow @stevecarprj on Twitter.
