Pacioretty unfit to play Game 2 of Western First Round for Golden Knights

Max Pacioretty was unfit to play for the Vegas Golden Knights against the Chicago Blackhawks in Game 2 of the Western Conference First Round at Rogers Place in Edmonton on Thursday.

The forward was minus-1 with four shots on goal in 18:08 for the Golden Knights in their 4-1 win in Game 1 on Tuesday after missing all three round-robin games during the Stanley Cup Qualifiers in Edmonton, the Western hub city.

Vegas won Game 2 4-3 in overtime to extend its lead in the best-of-7 series.

Forward Tomas Nosek replaced Pacioretty in the Golden Knights lineup and scored in the first period to make it 2-0. He played 9:23 but did not return for the third period because of an injury.

"No update yet," coach Peter DeBoer said of the status of Pacioretty and Nosek. "I'll get some of that information tonight into tomorrow. Right now, unfit to play."

As part of the NHL Return to Play Plan, teams are not permitted to disclose player injury or illness information.

Pacioretty led Vegas with 66 points (32 goals, 34 assists), eight power-play goals and 19 power-play points in 71 games this season. Nosek, who was a healthy scratch for Game 1 after he had one assist in three round-robin games, scored 15 points (eight goals, seven assists) in 67 regular-season games.