Snapshots: Hague, Lomberg, Sharks
25/04/2024 00:45
The Golden Knights will be without defenseman Nicolas Hague as they attempt to take a 2-0 series lead over the Stars tonight. Head coach Bruce Cassidy said the 25-year-old is day-to-day with a lower-body injury.
Hague hasn’t been ruled out past tonight’s game. He logged 15:41 in the Game 1 win, leaving the game midway through the third period after a brief tangle with Stars winger Evgenii Dadonov along the half-wall (video link). The 2017 second-round pick remains a mainstay on the Vegas blue line, making 73 regular-season appearances with two goals and 12 points in 2023-24. Averaging 18:33 per game, he posted a career-worst -5 rating and 46.7 CF% at even strength.
Missing Hague is far from the end of the world for Vegas, who had three-time Stanley Cup champion Alec Martinez sitting as a healthy scratch for Game 1. He’ll enter in place of Hague on a third pairing alongside Zach Whitecloud after posting 17 points in 55 games in the regular season.
Elsewhere around the NHL:
- Sticking with postseason action, the Panthers may get enforcer Ryan Lomberg back for Game 3 against the Lightning tomorrow, head coach Paul Maurice said. He sat out Game 2’s overtime win with an illness after logging 6:32 of ice time in Game 1. Steven Lorentz entered the lineup in his place, recording two shots on goal and four hits in similarly minimal usage. If Lomberg cannot go, Kyle Okposo will draw in for his first postseason game since 2016, with Sam Bennett already ruled out. Lomberg averaged only 9:32 per game during 75 regular-season appearances, scoring five goals and seven points with a -1 rating and 80 PIMs. The 5’9″ pot-stirrer will be a UFA this summer after completing a two-year deal worth $1.6MM.
- While the Sharks fired head coach David Quinn earlier today with one year left on his contract, they didn’t move on from any of his assistants. They’re staying with the team pending a new hire, but GM Mike Grier told San Jose Hockey Now’s Sheng Peng that they’ve been granted permission to pursue other opportunities while the search for Quinn’s replacement progresses. One assistant, Ryan Warsofsky, has drawn considerable interest for head coaching roles in the past and could be an outside candidate to land one of the many other vacancies on the coaching market this summer.
