Game day: Golden Knights host Blue Jackets in final home game before 4 Nations break

Vegas Golden Knights left wing Pavel Dorofeyev (16) celebrates with defenseman Shea Theodore (27) after scoring a goal against the St. Louis Blues during the third period of a NHL hockey game at T-Mobile Arena, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. Photo by Wade Vandervort

Today’s game against and Columbus Blue Jackets at 7 p.m. will be the Vegas Golden Knights' last home game for nearly a month.

Starting Sunday, the team will play four games on the road. Then, it will take a two-week break from Feb. 10 to Feb. 21 for the Four Nations Face-Off.

The Golden Knights return to T-Mobile Arena on Feb. 22 against the Vancouver Canucks. 

Five Golden Knights will be participating in the 4 Nations Face-Off: Jack Eichel (USA), Noah Hanifin (USA), Mark Stone (Canada), Shea Theodore (Canada) and Adin Hill (Canada).

Alex Pietrangelo (Canada) announced Sunday he was withdrawing from the tournament due to "an ailment."

William Karlsson (Sweden) will likely not play in the tournament as he is still week-to-week with a lower-body injury.   

The Golden Knights look to string some wins together as they have gone 2-1-1 over their last four games. The most recent result was an overtime loss to the Dallas Stars, 4-3, on Tuesday.

The most notable moment from the game was a collision between Stone and Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen.

Heiskanen is week-to-week with a lower-body injury and will miss the Four Nations Face-Off. After the game, Stone said he had no intent to injure Heiskanen.

Cal Burke has also been called up from Henderson. Jonas Rondbjerg, who has been playing with the Golden Knights for the last two games, was not present at today’s practice.

Unlike the Golden Knights, the Blue Jackets have had a strong January, posting an 8-3-1 record and are now in contention for a wild card spot. They're coming off a 3-2 overtime win over the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday.

Players to watch

Golden Knights: Jack Eichel (center) 50 games played, 16 goals, 48 assists, 64 points; Shea Theodore (defense) 50 games played, 6 goals, 38 assists, 44 points; Mark Stone (forward) 37 games played, 13 goals, 33 assists, 46 points. 

Columbus: Zach Werenski (defense) 50 games played, 16 goals, 38 assists, 54 points; Kirill Marchenko (forward) 50 games played, 20 goals, 33 assists, 53 points; Dmitri Voronkov (forward) 41 games played, 18 goals, 15 assists, 33 points. 

Non-active players

Golden Knights: Cole Schwindt (lower body), William Karlsson (lower body). 

Columbus: Yegor Chinakhov (upper body), Sean Monahan (wrist), Boone Jenner (shoulder), Erik Gudbranson (shoulder). 

How to watch

TV: Scripps Sports (Cox Communications, channel 34). KnightTime+ (streaming)

Betting line

Golden Knights -298 Columbus +240. Over/under 6.5 (+100/-120) 

Who is in goal

Golden Knights: Ilya Samsonov - 19 games played, 12-6-1 record, 2.94 goals against average, .897 save percentage, 1 shutout. 

Columbus: Elvis Merzlikins - 31 games played, 18-11-3 record, 2.95 goals against average, .894 save percentage, 1 shutout.