Oilers at Golden Knights preview
McDavid eyes point in 10th straight for Edmonton; Fleury to start fourth in row for Vegas
by Danny Webster / NHL.com Independent Correspondent
OILERS (14-7-3) at GOLDEN KNIGHTS (11-9-4)
10 p.m. ET; CBC, SN, SN360, SN1, CITY, ATTSN-RM, NHL.TV
The Game
Connor McDavid will try to extend his season-long point streak to 10 games when the Edmonton Oilers visit the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena on Saturday.
The Oilers captain has 21 points (10 goals, 11 assists) in his past nine games; he and teammate Leon Draisaitl are tied for the NHL scoring lead with 44 points (16 goals, 28 assists each).
Edmonton, which leads the Pacific Division, is 4-2-1 in its past seven games after going 2-3-1 in its previous six games. Goalie Mike Smith will start and go for his 250th win.
The Golden Knights aim to extend their point streak to four games; they're 2-0-1 in their past three games after a five-game winless streak (0-4-1). Goalie Marc-Andre Fleury will make his fourth consecutive start.
Players to watch
Draisaitl, whose 13-game point streak ended in a 5-1 loss at the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday, has 28 points (10 goals, 18 assists) in his past 14 games.
Golden Knights forward Max Pacioretty has six points (two goals, four assists) in his past four games.
They said it
"We've got to stay with it here. We have that good feeling in the group. We've got to play for some big points here. A divisional game, it's going to be big for us. It's nice to be off to a really good start." -- Oilers defenseman Oscar Klefbom
"We've got to try and slow down their top guys, somehow. They're the best players in the League. It's really important for us to have an idea of where they are on the ice, but also doing our best to make sure they defend." -- Golden Knights forward Max Pacioretty on Edmonton center Connor McDavid and forward Leon Draisaitl
Oilers projected lineup
Leon Draisaitl -- Connor McDavid -- Zack Kassian
Jujhar Khaira -- Ryan Nugent-Hopkins -- James Neal
Patrick Russell -- Riley Sheahan -- Josh Archibald
Markus Granlund -- Gaetan Haas -- Alex Chiasson
Darnell Nurse -- Ethan Bear
Oscar Klefbom -- Caleb Jones
Kris Russell -- Adam Larsson
Mike Smith
Mikko Koskinen
Scratched: Joakim Nygard, Sam Gagner
Injured: Matt Benning (concussion protocol), Brandon Manning (hand)
Golden Knights projected lineup
Max Pacioretty -- William Karlsson -- Reilly Smith
Jonathan Marchessault -- Cody Eakin -- Mark Stone
Alex Tuch -- Paul Stastny -- Cody Glass
William Carrier -- Tomas Nosek -- Ryan Reaves
Brayden McNabb -- Nate Schmidt
Nicolas Hague -- Shea Theodore
Jon Merrill -- Nick Holden
Marc-Andre Fleury
Malcolm Subban
Scratched: Deryk Engelland
Injured: None
Suspended: Valentin Zykov
Status report
Koskinen will start Sunday at the Arizona Coyotes. … Holden will play after being a healthy scratch the past three games.
Stat pack
McDavid has 13 points (five goals, eight assists) in eight games against Vegas. … Nugent-Hopkins is three points from 400 in the NHL. ... Neal has four goals in his past 16 games after scoring eight in his first eight. … Stastny is two points from 700 in the NHL. … Schmidt has five assists in his past three games.