Golden Knights’ Cody Eakin brushes off hard hit to face Predators

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Cody Eakin can take a hit.

The Golden Knights center was back in the lineup for Tuesday’s 4-1 loss against the Nashville Predators, 48 hours after he was checked and removed from Sunday’s victory over Ottawa.

“We got on the plane (Monday) and they said everything’s fine,” coach Gerard Gallant said. “It’s definitely a relief. You hate to see a guy go down and miss the rest of the game. They do the right thing and make sure he’s fine, and he’s ready to go.”

Eakin was drilled by Ottawa defenseman Mark Borowiecki and appeared woozy as he headed to the locker room with 4:31 left in the first period.

Borowiecki received a five-minute major and game misconduct and was suspended three games by the NHL on Monday for the hit to the head.

Eakin was not made available to the media following the Knights’ morning skate, but his quick recovery provided a boost. The Knights already are without injured left wing Max Pacioretty (upper body) and center Paul Stastny (lower body).

Eakin is tied with William Karlsson and Ryan Reaves for second on the team in goals with three. He has four points in eight games after missing the first week with a lower-body injury.

“Cody’s a big part of our team,” forward Alex Tuch said. “He’s really good in the faceoff circle and does a lot of little things that don’t go unnoticed with us.”

Patches stays home

Pacioretty did not travel to Nashville and missed his second consecutive game Tuesday. The Knights practice Wednesday in St. Louis and close out the two-game road trip against the Blues on Thursday.

“Doesn’t mean he can’t meet us,” Gallant said, “but he didn’t come (Monday).”

Pacioretty left in the first period of Friday’s loss to Tampa Bay after absorbing a jarring hit from Lightning defenseman Braydon Coburn. He remains day to day with an upper-body injury, and his status for Saturday’s home against Carolina is unclear.

Good memories

Nashville owned a sterling 28-9-4 record last season at Bridgestone Arena, but one of those losses came at the hands of the Knights.

Malcolm Subban made 41 saves and stopped all six attempts in the shootout for a 4-3 victory on Dec. 8, 2017. The Knights also lost 1-0 on Jan. 16 when Juuse Saros had 43 saves for Nashville.

“Last year’s last year, but … we played very well against this team,” Gallant said. “For me, the games that we played against this team last year, especially twice in this building, we played our best game.”

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