Predators at Golden Knights preview

PREDATORS (23-10-5) at GOLDEN KNIGHTS (26-9-2)
10 p.m. ET; ATTSN-RM, FS-TN, NHL.TV

The Golden Knights' run is an NHL record for the longest by a team in its inaugural season. They lead the Western Conference with 26 wins and 54 points, four behind the Tampa Bay Lighting for first in the NHL. Vegas is also 11-0-1 in its past 12 games, holds the best home record in the League (16-2-1) and has not lost at home in regulation since a 3-0 defeat to the Dallas Stars on Nov. 28.
Defenseman Ryan Ellis will make his season debut for the Predators, who have lost four of their past six games. Nashville's alternate captain is recovered from offseason knee surgery.

Players to watch

Predators defenseman P.K. Subban has 11 points (five goals, six assists) in his past nine games and has scored in eight of his past nine.
Golden Knights forward Jonathan Marchessault is on a six-game point streak (four goals, six assists). He leads Vegas with 36 points and an NHL career-high 22 assists.

They said it

"We've missed him. He plays a lot of situations and a lot of minutes, a character guy in the room and on the ice." -- Predators coach Peter Laviolette on Ryan Ellis
"Nashville's a team that uses its defense a lot. They've got some of the best skating defensemen in the NHL and they're definitely going to be a challenge for us." -- Golden Knights coach Gerard Gallant

Predators projected lineup

Calle Jarnkrok -- Ryan Johansen -- Viktor Arvidsson
Kevin Fiala -- Kyle Turris -- Craig Smith
Scott Hartnell -- Nick Bonino -- Colton Sissons
Cody McLeod -- Frederick Gaudreau -- Austin Watson
Ryan Ellis -- Roman Josi
Alexei Emelin -- P.K. Subban
Mattias Ekholm -- Anthony Bitetto
Pekka Rinne
Juuse Saros
Scratched:Scott Hartnell, Matt Irwin, Yannick Weber
Injured: Filip Forsberg (undisclosed)

Golden Knights projected lineup

Jonathan Marchessault -- William Karlsson -- Reilly Smith
David Perron -- Erik Haula -- James Neal
Brendan Leipsic -- Cody Eakin -- Alex Tuch
Oscar Lindberg -- Pierre-Edouard Bellemare -- Tomas Nosek
Brayden McNabb -- Nate Schmidt
Shea Theodore -- Deryk Engelland
Jon Merrill -- Colin Miller
Marc-Andre Fleury
Malcolm Subban
Scratched: Brad Hunt, Ryan Carpenter
Injured:Oscar Dansk (lower body), William Carrier (upper body), Luca Sbisa (lower body)

Status report

Gallant will stick with the same lineup from Vegas' 6-3 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sunday. … Ekholm, who had been paired with Josi most of the season, is expected to play with Bitetto with Ellis returning.

Stat pack

Fiala does not have a point in his past four games. … Fleury is 4-0-0 with a 1.48 goals-against average and .949 save percentage in his past four starts.