Rob Gray-Imagn Images

Golden Knights forwards provide ‘heavy’ play

Originally posted on Dice City Sports
By Paul Delos Santos | Last updated Nov 19, 2024 7:18 PM ET

The Vegas Golden Knights experimented with various line combinations in its past few games, mainly to do one thing – find a spark.

One of the lines that have come together recently is the forward line of Tomas Hertl, Nicolas Roy, and Keegan Kolesar. The line played 15:38 of ice time together in the team’s 5-2 loss to the Washington Capitals on Sunday and tilted the ice heavily in their favor.

The line had an expected goal percentage of 67 percent, according to Moneypuck.

“The last two games we played together, we have a lot of chances, especially last game, we should have three or four goals,” Hertl said. “I really like our line last couple of the game because we had a lot of chances.”

How the Line Impacts the Golden Knights

The line is one of Vegas’s more direct than some other lines that Vegas utilizes. The three love being in front of the net and creating chances from the low slot and crease area.

“We just play a direct game. We’re all big bodies that protect the puck well, and we like to get to the front end,” Kolesar said. “So that’s our problem right there is we all like to get to the front end. So sometimes we’re almost all three in a row there. We’re not giving the D options and not many options to shoot. So it doesn’t matter. I think all three of us, whoever we play with, we’re going to play our direct game and play a heavy game with O-zone possession.”

Roy and Hertl share face-off duties, depending on whose side it is on.

“Whoever starts the center and does the face-off, they kind of stay low anyway, so we share the responsibility,” Hertl said.

The line will likely stay together until captain Mark Stone returns, which could mean more lineup changes down the line.

Until then, the three forwards will continue to complement each other with their similar play styles.

Paul Delos Santos is the Las Vegas sports insider for Dice City Sports. Follow him on X at @PaulDelos_.

This article first appeared on Dice City Sports and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: