John Tortorella is making changes to his Vegas Knights lineup Sunday night, and at least one of them is turning heads before puck drop.
Elliotte Friedman reported the moves on X, listing three lineup swaps ahead of tonight's game.
Reilly Smith draws in for William Karlsson. Kaedan Korczak replaces Coghlan on the blue line.
And then there is Braeden Bowman for Kolesar, a move Friedman flagged as the surprise.
"Changes for Vegas:
Reilly Smith for Karlsson
Kaedan Korczak for Coghlan
Braeden Bowman for Kolesar...that one is the surprise."
- Elliotte Friedman
Vegas finished the regular season with a 39-26-17 record, good for 95 points and first in the Pacific Division.
That 7-0-3 run over their last 10 games tells you this group was playing its best hockey heading into the playoffs.
Tortorella's surprise scratch puts Kolesar's role under scrutiny
Kolesar has spent years carving out a specific job on Vegas rosters: physical presence, energy minutes, third-and-fourth-line muscle.
Getting pulled in a playoff lineup is never a quiet development. Not with Tortorella behind the bench.
He was hired in late March, and his fingerprints are already visible on who dresses and who watches.
Bowman stepping in suggests Tortorella is either prioritizing speed, matchup flexibility, or simply a different kind of identity in that spot.
The Karlsson-for-Smith swap is notable too. Karlsson has been a pillar of this franchise since the expansion draft. Smith knows this organization well.
Tortorella has $31.5 million committed between Mitch Marner, Jack Eichel, and Mark Stone at the top of the lineup.
That trio needs the right pieces around them to function. Every lineup decision below the top six carries weight.
Whether Bowman can actually stick or this is a one-game chess move, that is the question Tortorella has not answered yet.
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Is Tortorella making the right call by scratching Kolesar in the playoffs?
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