Darnell Nurse, Evan Bouchard, Cody Ceci, Mattias Ekholm and Brett Kulak are again the team's pairings. However, there are still openings in the sixth and seventh defense positions.
Vincent Desharnais hopes to capitalize on his 36 games in the NHL with that opening. In the long run, he may be a lock for the 7th defender position, and he will no doubt gain more minutes as the season goes on.
Ben Gleason, however, will be a formidable opponent for Desharnais, as Gleason played a total of 23:53 against the Seattle Kraken, while Desharnais was only on the ice for 16:51.
Gleason may have the advantage right now, since he is a left-handed defenseman, but that doesn't make him an automatic lock. It is crucial that Desharnais shows up, or else his career will be short-lived.
