Nicolas Hague Hits Injured Reserve
Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images
The Vegas Golden Knights lost a big part of their defense on Friday. Literally. After a failed comeback from an injury sustained on October 25, the Knights announced that 6-foot-6 defenseman Nicolas Hague was placed on injured reserve.
Hague’s not a superstar by any means, but he offers solid defense and physicality to the Knights’ bottom pair. Last season he scored two goals and 12 points in 73 games, mostly working with Zach Whitecloud at 5-on-5. Together, the two held their own at 5-on-5, only being out-scored 20-21 while being a slight positive in the on-ice expected goals share. That’s what you want from that part of the lineup.
Nicolas Hague and Alex Holtz team up to score the second Vegas goal in 19 seconds 🚨#VegasBorn pic.twitter.com/l2wYlkf5pU
— Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights & News (@HockeyDaily365) October 25, 2024
Usually when a move like this happens, the question becomes: What now? The nice-ish thing about Hague’s trip to IR is that we already have a good idea what’s going to happen. In the five games since Hague’s initial injury, Shea Theodore hasn’t taken on much additional workload, and Noah Hanifin has only seen his ice time increase by a minute. Neither are being taxed by Hague’s absence.
Meanwhile, we’ve seen Kaedan Korczak and Ben Hutton draw into the lineup. Knights fans know exactly what they’re getting from Hutton whenever he’s playing: He’s a stay-at-home defenseman who’s solid enough in a pinch. Korczak is a bit interesting, at age-23 and having put up a goal and nine points in 26 games with Vegas last year, but he’s also never been much of a scorer at the AHL level.
In any regard, Vegas should be OK, as they’ve posted a 4-1-0 record since Hague’s initial injury. Still, Hague is a cut above that group, so having him back and healthy soon would be a nice boost.
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