Lauzon happy to return to Knights' lineup

RALEIGH, N.C. — Jeremy Lauzon never lost faith. He always believed he had more hockey to play this season.

The Vegas Golden Knights defenseman returned to the lineup for Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final Tuesday after sitting out the entire second round against Anaheim and the Western Conference Final against Colorado with an upper-body injury.

“I never had a doubt the guys would come through,” Lauzon said following the team’s morning skate at the Lenovo Center where coach John Tortorella confirmed Lauzon would be in the lineup against the Carolina Hurricanes. “It feels great to be back.”

With Lauzon back, the Knights rallied from a 2-0 first-period deficit and eventually won Game 1, 5-4 on Tomas Hertl’s goal with 3:24 remaining in the third period.

Lauzon’s return meant someone had to be pulled out and Kaedan Korczak was that someone. With Dylan Coghlan playing well, it was an easy call for Tortorella.

Coghlan did not play alongside Lauzon in the first round vs. Utah as he was playing in the AHL Calder Cup Playoffs with the Henderson Silver Knights. But Coghlan, who has appeared in eight postseason games with Vegas and has a goal and two assists, said having Lauzon as his partner on the Knights’ third defense pairing probably helped him.

“I think out allows me to play more offensive,” Coghlan said. “He can open up the ice a little more for me and he brings a physical presence with his game. I think we compliment each other nicely.”

Lauzon said of playing alongside Coghlan: “I think it pairs great with my style. I think we can get more rush opportunities.”

Coghlan, who spent parts of two NHL seasons with Carolina before eventually returning to Vegas this year following a season in Winnipeg, has made the most of his opportunity during the Stanley Cup Playoffs. He is a plus-9 and has averaged just over 15 minutes of playing time.

“It’s a cool opportunity,” he said of being part of a Stanley Cup Final. We’re pretty excited.”

He should be excited. He’s an unrestricted free agent come July 1 and perhaps his play during the Knights’ postseason run will bring with it some opportunities for the 28-year-old Coghlan to stay in the NHL, be it in Vegas or elsewhere.

Lauzon? He found ways to stay connected to the team while he was out, attending meetings, being in the locker room, encouraging his teammates while he healed up. Now that he has returned in time for the Stanley Cup Final, it gives Tortorella another option as he also has Ben Hutton available along with Korczak if needed over the next couple of weeks.

On his second shift, Lauzon was welcomed back to action by receiving a punishing hit courtesy of former Golden Knight William Carrier, who rocked him into the boards behind the Vegas net. Lauzon got him back in the second period with a heavy hit moments after Nic Dowd leveled Carrier.

A shift later, Lauzon may have saved a goal by clearing the puck out from in front of Carter Hart, who looked to be out of position.

Lauzon wound up playing 13:26 over 22 shifts in Game 1. He was a minus-2 in his return but overall, he didn’t perform all that badly. He was just happy to be playing again and contributing on the ice.

“I tried to stay involved as much as I could,” Lauzon said. “It’s just super exciting to be in the Stanley Cup Final.”