The Las Vegas Golden Knights are set to host the Edmonton Oilers on Friday in NHL Playoffs action. The Golden Knights will have to make due without the services of defenseman Alex Pietrangelo, who has been suspended for a late game slash on Leon Draisaitl.
The slash happened in the waning seconds of the Oilers' 3-1 Game 4 win over the Knights and left Draisaitl writhing on the ice in pain.
On Thursday, Pietrangelo was officially suspended for Game 5, via the NHL Department of Player Safety.
Vegas’ Alex Pietrangelo has been suspended for one playoff game for Slashing against Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl.https://t.co/fK1Lswfwz6
— NHL Player Safety (@NHLPlayerSafety) May 12, 2023
The loss of Pietrangelo will certainly be felt on Friday. The 6'4 alternate team captain was the Golden Knights' fifth-leading scorer in the regular season and is the team's sixth-leading scorer in the playoffs.
The Oilers will also be without Darnell Nurse, a defenseman who was suspended for Game 5 due to allegedly instigating a fight in Game 4 Wednesday. The suspension happened even after Golden Knights captain Mark Stone said that Golden Knights defenseman Nicolas Hague asked for Nurse to drop the gloves, effectively initiating the fight.
Las Vegas enters Game 5 squared up 2-2 with Edmonton. The winner of Game 5 will sway momentum in their favor. With the matchup being held in Vegas, the Golden Knights would've liked to have their entire roster.
However, Alex Pietrangelo will now be forced to watch as a spectator. Las Vegas will now have an even taller task in front of them as the Golden Knights attempt to go up three games to two on an Oilers team that hasn't lost two games in a row since February.
Follow Us
Subscribe