Golden Knights wanted Max Pacioretty to rehab in Las Vegas

Max Pacioretty remains a country away from his teammates, and Golden Knights coach Pete DeBoer said Tuesday the many unknowns of bubble life in Edmonton, Alberta, caused the team to leave him behind Sunday.

Pacioretty is nursing a minor injury he suffered in training camp and hasn’t practiced since July 19. DeBoer said he didn’t know if the left wing would be able to get up to speed in Edmonton, so the team decided to leave him in Las Vegas.

But now that DeBoer has seen the NHL’s setup, he’s confident the Knights will be able to handle any injuries on-site.

“The big (ones are) ice time and weight room availability,” said DeBoer, who noted the Knights have a two-hour window of ice time each day. “The weight room is fantastic, but the ice time and the availability to rehab someone back from an injury with basically unlimited ice is something that probably was the key to leaving him back. But if we get an injury in here, I’m very comfortable we can deal with it with what we’ve got.”

DeBoer said Pacioretty, who has a team-high 32 goals and 66 points, will rejoin the Knights when he’s close to game-ready. If Pacioretty flies on a charter plane to Edmonton, he won’t have to go through an additional quarantine despite arriving late.

He will be limited to interacting with just the Knights his first five days in the bubble, a restriction his teammates are currently under. The measure is in place so teams aren’t exposed to each other during the media incubation period of COVID-19.

Nick Cousins skated in Pacioretty’s place on the first line in camp, but Chandler Stephenson took his place in practice Monday. DeBoer said he planned to try some different players to see who clicks the best with center William Karlsson and right wing Mark Stone.

“(Pacioretty is) obviously a big part of this team, and for him to go down in camp, it’s unfortunate,” defenseman Brayden McNabb said. “This means other guys have to step up. We’ve seen it all year. It’s an opportunity for guys to step up, and hopefully he’s back sooner than later.”

Broadcast information

The Knights’ exhibition game against the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday will be shown on NHL Network, and the team’s round-robin games and first-round playoff series will air on AT&T SportsNet.

The Knights play the Coyotes at 7 p.m. Thursday. The team said viewers in its standard market will receive the Fox Sports Arizona feed on NHL Network “due to transmission and production conflicts.”

AT&T SportsNet then will take over starting with the Knights’ first round-robin game against the Dallas Stars at 3 p.m. Monday. The times for the team’s other games against the St. Louis Blues (Aug. 6) and Colorado Avalanche (Aug. 8) have not been announced.

Also, each Stanley Cup playoff game will be broadcast on the Knights’ radio home, Fox Sports Las Vegas (98.9 FM/1340 AM).

Game time

DeBoer said the Knights’ staff planned to be at the first game played in the Edmonton hub Tuesday between the Oilers and Calgary Flames. He was excited to go just as a fan, but he also wanted to take notes before the Knights play there.

“Actually (I) can’t wait to get hockey started this afternoon and start watching some,” DeBoer said. “But I’m interested, too. I’m interested to see what it looks like. I’m interested to see what the production on the TV of the games look like to the fans watching at home. I’m also kind of interested in what the rink feels like, how much you can hear and the sounds and things like that.”

Contact Ben Gotz at bgotz@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BenSGotz on Twitter.