Paul Stastny set for Golden Knights debut vs. Avalanche

DENVER — Paul Stastny plays his first game with the Golden Knights on Tuesday when they face the Colorado Avalanche at Pepsi Center.

Opening faceoff is 6 p.m. PDT, and the game will be joined in progress on NHL Network.

The Knights are coming off a 7-2 win over Arizona on Sunday in their exhibition opener.

“We’ve got 29 players fighting for spots, but probably 20 guys who have spots locked up already. That’s the way just about every team works,” Knights coach Gerard Gallant said. “Guys will battle and play hard and try to make an impression and make us make tough decisions. That’s what training camp is all about.”

Stastny was signed by the Knights as a free agent in July. He attended the University of Denver and spent his first eight seasons with the Avalanche.

The 32-year-old center had 16 goals and 37 assists with St. Louis and Winnipeg last season.

Stastny skated with Reilly Smith and 19-year-old prospect Lucas Elvenes on the wings during practice Monday.

Colorado is playing its first exhibition game and will ice a strong team. Coach Jared Bednar announced the first line of Gabriel Landeskog, Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen is in the lineup.

MacKinnon was fifth in the NHL with 97 points last season and finished second in the voting for the Hart Trophy as most valuable player.

Veteran defensemen Tyson Barrie, Erik Johnson and Ian Cole also are expected to play, and starting goaltender Semyon Varlamov will be in net.

“I like the way we played, and I like the way our team played the game we play in game one, so that’s what I want to see,” Gallant said. “I want to see us play hard, I want to see us play fast and quick and play the way we play.”

Golden Knights lineup:

Forwards

Ryan Carpenter, William Carrier, Reid Duke, Cody Eakin, Lucas Elvenes, Erik Haula, Tomas Hyka, Oscar Lindberg, Brooks Macek, Brandon Pirri, Paul Stastny and Alex Tuch

Defensemen

Erik Brannstrom, Brayden McNabb, Jon Merrill, Colin Miller, Griffin Reinhart and Zach Whitecloud

Goaltenders

Dylan Ferguson, Zachary Fucale

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Contact David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow @DavidSchoenLVRJ on Twitter.