Anaheim Ducks goaltender Ryan Miller (30) deflects a shot from Vegas Golden Knights left wing Max Pacioretty (67) in the second period of a game at T-Mobile Arena Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2021.
Thursday, Feb. 11, 2021 | 3 p.m.
The Golden Knights found out during the second intermission of Tuesday’s game that forward Tomas Nosek tested positive for COVID-19. They played the rest of the game, beating the Ducks 5-4.
On Wednesday, the NHL announced what happened with Nosek, and he was placed on the league’s COVID protocol-related absences list. He was the only one, meaning no other players were deemed “high-risk close contacts” that would have forced their inclusion on the list.
The Golden Knights are prepping for today’s 7 p.m. game against the Ducks at T-Mobile Arena like an otherwise normal game. One player acknowledged this is their “new normal,” and coach Pete DeBoer said Nosek’s situation was out of his control.
“I’ll be honest with you, we’ve kind of become numb to it,” DeBoer said. “It’s another day in the COVID world we live in, and hopefully the end is in sight.”
DeBoer said it wasn’t up to the Golden Knights whether the game should be played or who would go on the league’s COVID list. When he found out Nosek’s test came back positive, the next steps were out of his control, he said.
“That immediately gets taken out of our hands at that point and is in the medical team’s hands of the NHL and both teams,” DeBoer said. “What happens from there, we just follow instruction.”
Vegas shut down its facility Wednesday and returned to practice today. Other than Nosek, almost everyone else was accounted for. Defenseman Shea Theodore did not skate, but he was injured Tuesday and is not expected to play tonight.
Vegas players found out about Nosek the same time as DeBoer, and the coach believes the rattling nature of learning what happened to a teammate affected them in the third period. The Golden Knights allowed Anaheim to tie the game with three goals in the period, though they did score late to win it.
“This is kind of the new normal, unfortunately,” captain Mark Stone said. “Obviously (the league) is going to try and buckle down a little bit more and try to find ways to improve it, and we’ve got to respect it.”
As a result of Tuesday’s incident, the NHL announced all players and staff with the Golden Knights and Ducks would undergo rapid testing for COVID-19, in addition to their daily lab-based PCR testing, the results of which come back later in the day. Defenseman Zach Whitecloud said he did not know the result of his rapid test before practice this morning.
As for the on-ice narratives, the Golden Knights will have some lineup changes today. Defenseman Alex Pietrangelo, who missed three games in COVID protocols, will return to his spot on the right side of the top pair. He in essence replaces Theodore, who DeBoer labeled as “day-to-day.”
With Nosek out, forward Nicolas Roy dropped from the third line to his natural spot at center on the fourth line. Keegan Kolesar will enter the lineup in Roy’s old spot on the left wing.
Goalie Robin Lehner is expected to start his sixth game of the season as part of an every-other-game rotation with Marc-Andre Fleury.
Vegas is 13-2-0 all-time against Anaheim, its most wins against any franchise.
TV: AT&T SportsNet (DirecTV 684, Cox 1313, CenturyLink 1760)
Radio: Fox Sports 1340 AM and 98.9 FM
Betting line: Golden Knights minus-230, Ducks plus-200; over/under: 5.5 (minus-120, EVEN)
Golden Knights (8-1-1, 17 points; 1st place, West Division)
Coach: Peter DeBoer (second season)
Points leader: Mark Stone (15)
Goals leader: Max Pacioretty (6)
Assists leader: Mark Stone (12)
Expected goalie: Robin Lehner (2.96 GAA, .890 save percentage)
Ducks (5-6-3, 13 points; t-4th place, West Division)
Coach: Dallas Eakins (second season)
Points leader: Max Comtois (7)
Goals leader: Max Comtois (5)
Assists leader: Carter Rowney (6)
Expected goalie: John Gibson (2.48 GAA, .918 save percentage)
Golden Knights projected lineup
Forwards
Max Pacioretty—Chandler Stephenson—Mark Stone
Jonathan Marchessault—William Karlsson—Reilly Smith
Keegan Kolesar—Cody Glass—Alex Tuch
William Carrier—Nicolas Roy—Ryan Reaves
Defensemen
Alec Martinez—Alex Pietrangelo
Nicolas Hague—Zach Whitecloud
Nick Holden—Dylan Coghlan
Goalies
Robin Lehner, Marc-Andre Fleury
