The Vegas Golden Knights may see a key player return to their lineup for the second game of their series against the Edmonton Oilers.
Head coach Bruce Cassidy informed reporters on Thursday that top defenseman Alex Pietrangelo is considered a game-time decision. Pietrangelo missed Game 1 due to illness.
However, the team`s leading scorer, Pavel Dorofeyev, will remain out of the lineup as he continues to recover from an undisclosed injury.
Pietrangelo, aged 35, participated in all six games of the Golden Knights` first-round series victory over the Minnesota Wild, contributing one goal and two assists. During the regular season, he registered four goals and 29 assists in 71 appearances for Vegas.
In Game 1, 24-year-old Kaedan Korczak stepped in to replace Pietrangelo.
Dorofeyev had a breakthrough season, leading the Golden Knights with 35 goals and accumulating a total of 52 points (35 goals, 17 assists).
Left-shot winger Victor Olofsson, who scored 15 goals this season, has taken Dorofeyev`s place in the lineup. Olofsson has also been assigned Dorofeyev`s role on the power play unit.
The 24-year-old Dorofeyev sustained his unspecified injury late in Vegas` 3-2 overtime win against the Minnesota Wild in Game 5 of their opening-round series.
Game 2 between the Golden Knights and the Oilers is scheduled for Thursday at 9:30 p.m. ET / 7:30 p.m. MT.
Tristan Blackwood