Golden Knights star out with lower-body injury, considered day-to-day

The Vegas Golden Knights made a few roster moves in advance of their game against the St. Louis Blues. Per a team announcement, star forward Jonathan Marchessault will be out with a lower-body injury, and his status is considered day-to-day.

Additionally, the team recalled forward Pavel Dorofeyev and defenseman Brayden Pachal from its AHL affiliate, the Henderson Silver Knights. Per CapFriendly, the team has also placed forward Paul Cotter on injured reserve.

The absence of Marchessault, 31, leaves a major hole in the Golden Knights lineup. Playing in his usual spot next to Reilly Smith and William Karlsson, Marchessault has been putting up points this year, potting 14 goals and 27 points in 35 games. He’s one of the team’s most reliable and consistent offensive producers, so his status will be something for Golden Knights fans to monitor as they look to maintain their spot at the top of the Western Conference.

Marchessault’s place in the lineup is filled by the recall of Dorofeyev from Henderson. Per The Atheltic’s Jesse Granger, veteran forward Phil Kessel will take Marchessault’s spot on the “misfits line,” and Dorofeyev will slide onto the Golden Knights’ third line with Jonas Rondbjerg and Jake Leschyshyn.

Dorefeyev, 22, has just two NHL games on his resume, although he has been an impactful AHL player so far in his young career. He led Henderson in scoring last season, notching 27 goals and 52 points in 52 games, and has 12 points in 21 games this year. While the Golden Knights would undoubtedly prefer to have Marchessault in the lineup, his absence will provide them a quality opportunity to evaluate what Dorofeyev can do at the NHL level.

The other recall the Golden Knights made was of a defenseman, Pachal. The 23-year-old undrafted defenseman has just four NHL games on his resume, but this recall puts him in a position to add to that number. Granger notes that Pachal could take a spot next to Alec Martinez on the team’s bottom pairing, and in that role, Pachal will likely be in his comfort zone.

The six-foot-one blue liner provides physical, defense-first play in the AHL, and head coach Bruce Cassidy could likely expect him to bring the same on his bottom pairing, especially if the experienced Martinez can help shelter him a bit.

The final move the team made, as reported by CapFriendly, is the placement of Cotter on injured reserve. Cotter has been out on a day-to-day designation for almost the past week. An impressive training camp and preseason earned the 2018 fourth-rounder a spot in Vegas’ lineup, and while his production (six points in 22 games) isn’t anything to write home about he has definitely shown flashes of promise.

The 23-year-old now lands on injured reserve, and the hope will be that he can return to health quickly and continue his growth into an everyday NHL contributor.