The Vegas Golden Knights are going with not one, not two, but three changes to their lineup in the do-or-die Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final on Sunday night.
Original Misfit forward Reilly Smith will play his first game since the Game 6 clincher against the Utah Mammoth in the first round, and rookie winger Braeden Bowman will make his Stanley Cup Playoff debut.
Kaedan Korczak will replace Dylan Coghlan on the blue line, playing his first game since Game 4 of the Western Conference Final.
Smith draws in for the injured William Karlsson (arm). He will play on the third line with Colton Sissons and Tomas Hertl.
Bowman draws in for Keegan Kolesar on the fourth line.
Korczak, who was benched for Coghlan during the Anaheim series, will skate to the right of Jeremy Lauzon.
Pavel Dorofeyev will move back to the top line with Jack Eichel and Mark Stone, while Ivan Barbashev will take Karlsson’s spot on the second line with Brett Howden and Mitch Marner.
Smith, 35, will play his first Cup Final game for the Knights since scoring the game-winning goal in the Game 5 clincher against the Florida Panthers in 2023. Smith has 72 points in his playoff career with the Knights.
Bowman, 22, has not played an NHL game since March 21. The undrafted forward from Kitchener, Ontario had 26 points in 54 games during the regular season as one of the team’s biggest surprises of the season.
He had 26 points n 20 games for AHL Henderson during the regular season, and added two goals and four points in the Calder Cup Playoffs.
Korczak, 25, has three assists in 12 games. Two of those helpers came in the Knights’ 5-3 comeback win in Game 3 against Colorado on May 24.
Contact Danny Webster at dwebster@reviewjournal.com. Follow @DannyWebster21 on X.
