Brandon Pirri looks to provide scoring punch for Golden Knights

This isn’t how Brandon Pirri thought his season would go.

The left wing signed a two-year contract with the Golden Knights in July after scoring 12 goals in 31 games last season. He moved his family from Chicago to Las Vegas. He was ready to seize an NHL role.

Then, 1½ months into the season, he was out. The Knights placed him on waivers Nov. 16 and sent him to the American Hockey League’s Chicago Wolves when he cleared.

He wasn’t recalled until Saturday. So now he’s just trying to make the most of his latest opportunity, hoping to add scoring punch to a team depleted by injuries.

“It’s been tough,” Pirri said. “It was tough (being waived), my family was here. I had to get back to Chicago, and then when we got back there, we got settled in and everything was good.”

Pirri, 28, scored 35 points in 38 games with the Wolves and kept producing even when younger forwards Nicolas Roy, Keegan Kolesar and Gage Quinney received call-ups before he did.

He finally got his chance Saturday. The Knights wanted to add an offensive threat with right wings Mark Stone and Alex Tuch injured, so Pirri got the call.

“He’s the one guy down there that has scored at this level and has done it pretty consistently when he’s been up here,” coach Pete DeBoer said. “He has an offensive element to him that maybe some of the other guys don’t.”

Pirri knows he has to live up to that billing. It’s on him and his sharp wrist shot to get on the score sheet, or else he knows what can happen.

“That’s the type of player I am,” Pirri said. “If I’m going to play in the NHL, I have to contribute offensively, so we’ll see.”

Pirri and rookie forward Nicolas Roy were sent back to Chicago after Tuesday’s 3-0 win over New Jersey at T-Mobile Arena.

Gusev returns

Former Knight Nikita Gusev made his T-Mobile Arena debut Tuesday.

Gusev signed an entry-level deal with team April 14, but didn’t play in the first-round playoff series against the San Jose Sharks. The Russian wing, 27, was then traded to the New Jersey Devils in July for a second- and third-round pick.

Gusev has 42 points in his first NHL season, flashing the offensive talent he displayed in Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League and international competitions. His play away from the puck is still a work in progress, but Devils interim coach Alain Nasreddine likes the total package.

“As far as an offensive-type player, he is special,” Nasreddine said after the Devils’ morning skate Tuesday. “The way he sees the ice and the way he finds his options, we call him a magician. There’s a reason for that.”

Contact Ben Gotz at bgotz@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BenSGotz on Twitter.