For the eighth time in nine seasons, the Vegas Golden Knights are in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. They’ll start the first round against the Utah Mammoth on Sunday at T-Mobile Arena.
Puck drop is scheduled for 7:22 p.m. PST.
Carter Hart will start in goal for the Golden Knights. Hart had a record of 11-3-3 and an average save percentage of .891 in 18 games during the regular season.
Karel Vejmelka starts in net for the Mammoth. Vejmelka had a record of 38-20-3 and an average save percentage of .897 in 64 games during the regular season.
Golden Knights Lines
Mitch Marner — Jack Eichel — Mark Stone
Ivan Barbashev — Brett Howden — Pavel Dorofeyev
Reilly Smith — Tomáš Hertl — Keegan Kolesar
Cole Smith — Nic Dowd — Colton Sissons
Defense
Brayden McNabb — Shea Theodore
Noah Hanifin — Rasmus Andersson
Jeremy Lauzon — Kaedan Korczak
Goaltenders: Carter Hart / Adin Hill
Mammoth Lines
Clayton Keller — Nick Schmaltz — Lawson Crouse
Kailer Yamamoto — Logan Cooley — Dylan Guenther
JJ Peterka — Alex Kerfoot — Michael Carcone
Liam O’Brien — Kevin Stenlund — Brandon Tanev
Defense
Mikhail Sergachev — MacKenzie Weegar
Nate Schmidt — John Marino
Ian Cole — Sean Durzi
Goaltenders: Karel Vejmelka / Vitek Vaněček
Special Teams (Regular Season)
VGK power play: 24.6%, 6th
VGK penalty kill: 81.4%, 7th
Mammoth power play: 20.0%, 18th
Mammoth penalty kill: 78.1%, 19th
Game Notes
In the regular season series, the Golden Knights won the first meeting by a score of 4-1. The Mammoth won the next two, 5-1 and 4-0, respectively.
This will be the first playoff series between the Golden Knights and the Mammoth. The Golden Knights have the edge in certain areas, but the young, hungry Mammoth will pose a unique challenge.
The Golden Knights are 11-7 in Game 1s in their franchise history.
In 12 career Game 1s, Mitch Marner has five goals and 13 points.
Jack Eichel led the Golden Knights in scoring this season with 27 goals and 90 points in 74 games. Eichel has two goals and six points in six regular season games against the Mammoth.
Clayton Keller led the Mammoth in scoring this season with 26 goals and 88 points in 82 games. Keller has 10 goals and 26 points in 34 career games against the Golden Knights.
The Golden Knights went 20-12-9 at home this season; the Mammoth were 21-17-3 on the road.
How to Watch
TV: Vegas 34, ESPN
Streaming: KnightTime+
Radio: FOX Sports Las Vegas 94.7/1340, Deportes Vegas 1460