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Reaves sits as Golden Knights tweak Game 5 lineup (Update)

2018 NHL Stanley Cup Final - Game Three

WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 02: David Perron #57 of the Vegas Golden Knights skates against Lars Eller #20 of the Washington Capitals in Game Three of the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Final at Capital One Arena on June 2, 2018 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

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Update: The rumblings appear to be true. With Vegas’ season on the line, Gerard Gallant decided to add David Perron and William Carries back into the mix. Ryan Reaves and Ryan Carpenter, meanwhile, are healthy scratches.

Will the moves pay off? Click here for the livestream.
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For the first time this postseason the Vegas Golden Knights are facing elimination when they enter Game 5 against the Washington Capitals on Thursday night.

For the second game in a row they could be making some changes to their lineup in an effort to change the momentum of the series.

In Game 4 they swapped David Perron for Tomas Tatar, a move that did not really produce the desired results.

Even though coach Gerard Gallant refused to announce or confirm any changes for Game 5 on Thursday, speculation seems to be, based on who did and did not take part in the optional morning skate, that Perron and William Carrier could be back in the lineup in place of Ryan Carpenter and Ryan Reaves.
[Related: Golden Knights could really use one of their fast starts for Game 5]

Both potential moves would be ... let’s just say interesting.

Carrier has not played since Game 5 of the second round series against the San Jose Sharks and was playing less than nine minutes per night when he was in the lineup. There probably isn’t much of a difference between him and Reaves on the fourth line, so it would be kind of odd to put him back in at this point. What would be especially bizarre about that switch is the fourth line of Tomas Nosek, Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, and Reaves has, quite surprisingly, been one of the Golden Knights’ better lines recently.

Then again, if your fourth line is playing better than your first three lines it probably is not a good thing.

Perron, meanwhile, is still searching for his first goal of the playoffs after finishing the regular season with 16 goals and 66 total points in 70 games. In his two games before being scratched for Game 4 on Monday he had failed to record a shot on goal and was a minus-3 in the Golden Knights’ Game 3 loss. In his past six games he has just a single point (an assist) and only four shots on goal. In four of those six games he has not recorded a single shot on goal.

We will not know for sure what Vegas has planned until game-time.

When their team has lost three games in a row, has scored only five goals (while giving up 12), and is facing elimination in the Stanley Cup Final most coaches will feel the need to do something to try and shake things up and find a spark. Maybe Gallant will find something here.

MORE:
NBC’s Stanley Cup Playoff Hub
Stanley Cup Final Guide
Stanley Cup Final schedule

Adam Gretz is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @AGretz.