Golden Knights activate key defenseman from IR

As the team begins to take warm-ups in their Sunday night matchup against the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Vegas Golden Knights announce that defenseman Nicolas Hague has been activated off of the team’s injured reserve, and will play in Sunday's game.

Hague had been sidelined with a lower-body injury since the team’s Oct. 30 game against the Montreal Canadiens. Although not a member of the original Golden Knights team that managed to make the Stanley Cup Final in their inaugural season in the league, Hague was the fourth-ever draft pick for Vegas, being selected 34th overall in the 2017 NHL Draft.

As one of the more unheralded members of the Golden Knight’s blue line, over the last three years, Hague has regularly averaged more than 18 minutes of ice time per night, as well as receiving regular minutes on Vegas’ penalty kill units.

Last season, in what has been the best of his career to date, Hague played in 81 games for the Golden Knights, scoring 17 points in total, while blocking 133 shots and throwing 117 assists. He also carried an above-average Corsi For % of 46.8% and an On-Ice Save Percentage of 91.7%.

Getting off to one of the hottest starts in the league, the Golden Knights have cooled off a bit in Hague’s absence, going 4-3-1 in their last eight games, after starting off the season 9-0-1. With Hague back in the lineup, Vegas will now have added confidence in their ability to keep the puck out of their net.