MORNING SKATE NOTES
- Utah held an optional morning skate
- The team will have several game time decisions per head coach André Tourigny
- It’s the first time these teams have played each other since the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs
Optional Skate
After two days of practice at home, Utah held an optional morning skate in Vegas. The following players were on the ice, in no particular order.
Nick DeSimone, Kevin Stenlund, Kailer Yamamoto, John Marino (non-contact), Lawson Crouse, Jack McBain, Dmitri Simashev, Artem Duda, Ben McCartney, MacKenzie Weegar, Zac Jones, Andrew Peeke, Liam O’Brien, and Mikhail Sergachev.
Managing the Emotions
This is Utah’s first time back in Vegas since the First Round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Last year was an emotional, hard fought series with three of the six games decided by a goal. The team is expecting another emotional game tonight, and Utah knows how important it is to use their emotions to their benefit.
“There’s a part where you want that emotion,” Tourigny explained. “I think it’s great to have emotion. Hockey, it’s an emotional game, and you want that. And you want to learn to control that emotion. You don’t want that emotion to become a problem. So, I think it’s good to be in those situations. You need to embrace it, love it…the team we want to be or where we want to go, we need to be able to play those kind of emotional games, which I think our guys are better every day at managing (that). So, that will be a good opportunity today to show it.”
“Just managing emotions, not being overemotional about the game,” forward Liam O’Brien shared. “I think just worrying about our own game and what we need to do.”
Getting Inside
With their stingy play and strong goaltending, the Golden Knights have held their opponents to the fifth-fewest goals against average in the NHL. To score against Vegas, Utah needs to be scrappy and fighting for positioning down low.
“They’re great at making it hard to get inside, and I think for us, it’s just using our feet and getting into those areas quicker than them,” O’Brien said. “I think that’s one of our strengths, and if we use that, I think we’ll have success.
Staying Sharp
Vegas is also strong in their transitions and neutral zone play. Limiting their mistakes will help Utah and keep the team from fueling their opponent’s chances.
“If you make a mistake with your puck management (in the) neutral zone, they will jump at you right away,” Tourigny said. “So, that is one of the biggest challenges. They have veterans poised with the puck, they’re really calm in the neutral zone with the puck…so, the way you play in the neutral zone against that team is really, really important.”
