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Golden Knights Bypass Late Moves After Adding Dowd and Smith to Reinforce Fourth Line

The club prioritized defensive depth over a marquee move.

Overview

  • Vegas made no additional deadline-day trades after acquiring Nic Dowd from Washington for goalie prospect Jesper Vikman and picks and adding Cole Smith from Nashville earlier in the week.
  • Dowd is set to center a defensive fourth line with Smith and Colton Sissons, with GM Kelly McCrimmon highlighting their heavy defensive-zone usage and penalty-kill value.
  • Mark Stone remains day-to-day with an upper-body injury and will miss Sunday’s game, while Brett Howden is expected to return to the lineup that day.
  • William Karlsson stays on LTIR without a season-ending designation, preserving the option for a playoff return if the team advances.
  • Carter Hart is week-to-week as McCrimmon commits to proceeding with three goaltenders, expressing confidence in Adin Hill and Akira Schmid; Vegas sits 29-19-14 with 20 games left and leads the Pacific Division.