LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Coming off Monday's 5-3 loss to the Minnesota Wild, the Vegas Golden Knights have enjoyed their last extended stretch of rest of the regular season. The team is set to play five games in eight days, starting with their home matchup against the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday night at 7:30 p.m.
Friday's practice marked another step in the right direction as the team gets healthier after being plagued by injuries after the season's midway point.
Defensemen Ben Hutton and Shea Theodore are nearing returns after the two have missed extended time with injury. Head coach Bruce Cassidy announced that Hutton has not been ruled out for Saturday's contest and may return to the game action for the first time since December. Theodore will not play against Carolina but is making progress towards a return after undergoing upper-body surgery in November.
"It's big," forward Paul Cotter said after Friday's practice. "Obviously, we'd rather go through that little injury stint when we did instead of down the road so hopefully that gets out of our system a little bit. Getting guys back like Theo and Jack is going to help us tremendously."
Jack Eichel remains on IR after having knee surgery in January but Cassidy expects the star center to return to the lineup in late February or early March. Skaters like William Karlsson and Michael Amadio have already made it back to game action to help the team return to full strength.
Going 2-1 so far out of the All-Star break, the Golden Knights are looking to improve their consistency and finish the regular season on the right note to catapult them into a run at a Stanley Cup repeat.
"The goal is not to be the best team in the first month of the season," goalie Adin Hill said. "It's to be the best team in the last month of the season, carrying that momentum through. I thought we did a great job of that last season so we're hoping to do that again and hopefully build off that."
The Golden Knights' next test is on Saturday at the Fortress against Carolina, a team that beat VGK 6-3 in December and sits at second place in the Metro Division.
"It's good to be tested and we're going to be tested tomorrow," Cassidy said at his Friday presser. "If we're not ready to play, it's going to be problematic. I think coming out of that game Monday, most of our guys would tell you that they weren't happy with their performance."