Golden Knights make 2 lineup changes for Game 5 at Avalanche
DENVER — The Golden Knights are making two lineup changes for Game 5 of their second-round series against the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday at Ball Arena.
Left wing Mattias Janmark and defenseman Nick Holden are going in, and right wing Ryan Reaves and defenseman Nic Hague are going out.
Janmark hasn’t played since Game 1, when he was hit late and high by Colorado defenseman Ryan Graves in the corner of the offensive zone. The trade-deadline acquisition has six points in eight playoff games. podcast
Janmark will return to his spot on the third line and bump right wing Keegan Kolesar to the fourth line. Reaves will be a healthy scratch as a result for the first time in the playoffs since the Knights’ inaugural season.
Reaves missed Games 2 and 3 of the series because of a two-game suspension roughing/unsportsmanlike conduct against Graves. Kolesar played well in his absence. The fourth line the Knights used without Reaves — left wing William Carrier, center Patrick Brown and Kolesar — had a 24-7 edge in shot attempts at five-on-five in two games.
Holden is jumping back into the lineup after being a healthy scratch for Game 4. The veteran has provided a huge boost filling in during the postseason. He is tied for the most points on the team among defensemen in the playoffs with five in eight games.
Hague has two points in nine games in his first NHL postseason. Coach Pete DeBoer praised how Hague and 24-year-old defenseman Zach Whitecloud were handling themselves Tuesday morning.
“They paid their dues, came up the right way and have entered our group the right way,” DeBoer said. “They’ve worked on their defensive foundation. They both have offensive instincts, but they know to get on the ice here, to get trust, they had to be solid defensively, and they’ve both done that. They both have long careers (ahead of them) at this level.”
Contact Ben Gotz at bgotz@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BenSGotz on Twitter.