Golden Knights expected to activate Ivan Barbashev ahead of Rangers matchup

The Golden Knights will likely activate winger Ivan Barbashev off injured reserve before Saturday’s game against the Rangers after he was a full participant in practice on Friday, SinBin.vegas reports. The club opened up a roster spot in advance by assigning winger Jonas Røndbjerg to AHL Henderson, according to a team announcement.

Barbashev, 29, last played nearly one month ago and has missed 10 games with an upper-body injury. Both he and Nicolas Roy left a Dec. 15 win over the Wild prematurely and haven’t played since, and the latter still has a bit to go in his recovery before he’s ready to return.

The league-leading Knights took the loss of one-third of their top line in stride, managing an 8-2-0 record without Barbashev in the lineup while outscoring opponents 35-19. Victor Olofsson assumed Barbashev’s spot alongside Jack Eichel and Mark Stone, notching a pair of goals and three assists in nine games in the interim.

The Barbashev-Eichel connection this season has been lethal at even strength, contributing to the former tracking right around a point per game through the first half of the year – by far the best pace of his career. He has 15 goals and 30 points in 31 appearances, with just one of those points coming on special teams.

Barbashev is now in his third season in Nevada after the Knights acquired him from the Blues ahead of the 2023 trade deadline. He played a key role in Vegas’ first-ever Stanley Cup in 2023, posting 18 points in 22 playoff games, and has also managed 91 points in 136 regular-season contests since arriving with the Knights.

Needless to say, he’s providing important positive value on his $5M cap-hit contract for Vegas this season. He’s in the second season of that five-year extension, which he signed weeks after winning the Cup.

Røndbjerg, 25, had played in the Knights’ last five games after being recalled from Henderson shortly before New Year’s. He added those onto two appearances earlier in the year, bringing his season totals to no points and a minus-one rating in seven appearances while averaging a paltry 8:57 per game.

It’s the Danish winger’s fourth year of seeing NHL ice, and he’s posted 10 points in 70 career games while serving in a depth call-up role. A third-round pick in Vegas’ first draft in 2017, he also has 103 points in 205 NHL games since arriving in North America in 2019.