Sharks at Golden Knights preview

SHARKS (25-13-7) at GOLDEN KNIGHTS (27-15-4)
10 p.m. ET; ESPN+, ATTSN-RM, NBCSCA, NHL.TV

The Golden Knights won eight consecutive games from Dec. 14, 2017-Jan. 2, 2018 last season, their first in the NHL. Vegas also has a 10-game point streak (8-0-2) and a 12-game point streak at home (10-0-2), each the longest active in the NHL.
Marc-Andre Fleury will start his 777th NHL game, which will tie Tom Barrasso for 20th place on the League's all-time list among goalies. Fleury is 7-0-2 with a 2.09 goals-against average, .928 save percentage and one shutout in his past nine starts.
The Sharks, seeking their fourth consecutive win, are 11-2-2 in their past 15 games and have scored at least five goals in five of their past seven games.

Players to watch

Sharks defenseman Erik Karlsson has 25 points (one goal, 24 assists) in a personal 14-game point streak (he missed two games because of a suspension). An assist Thursday will make him the third defenseman in NHL history with at least one assist in 15 consecutive games he played in, joining Paul Coffey (17 games, Nov. 27, 1985-Jan. 2, 1986) and Brian Leetch (15 games, Nov. 29-Dec. 31, 1991).
Golden Knights forward Alex Tuch has eight points (two goals, six assists) in a seven-game point streak.

They said it

"You only get so many of these four-point opportunities. [The Golden Knights are] starting to hit their stride, and I'd like to think we are, too. It should be a good game." -- Sharks coach Peter DeBoer
"His passing is unbelievable. He's the best passing defenseman in the League. He's a great player; a Norris Trophy winner and a highly-skilled player." -- Golden Knights coach Gerard Gallant on Sharks defenseman Erik Karlsson

Sharks projected lineup

Marcus Sorensen -- Joe Thornton -- Joe Pavelski
Lukas Radil -- Logan Couture -- Timo Meier
Evander Kane -- Tomas Hertl -- Joonas Donskoi
Melker Karlsson -- Barclay Goodrow -- Kevin Labanc
Radim Simek -- Brent Burns
Brenden Dillon -- Erik Karlsson
Joakim Ryan -- Tim Heed
Martin Jones
Aaron Dell
Scratched: Rourke Chartier, Jake Middleton
Injured: Justin Braun (knee), Marc-Edouard Vlasic (wrist)

Golden Knights projected lineup

Jonathan Marchessault -- William Karlsson -- Max Pacioretty
Brandon Pirri -- Paul Stastny -- Alex Tuch
Tomas Nosek -- Cody Eakin -- Ryan Carpenter
Oscar Lindberg -- Pierre-Edouard Bellemare -- Ryan Reaves
Brayden McNabb -- Nate Schmidt
Shea Theodore -- Deryk Engelland
Jon Merrill -- Nick Holden
Marc-Andre Fleury
Maxime Lagace
Scratched: Brad Hunt, Valentin Zykov
Injured: Reilly Smith (lower body), Erik Haula (lower body), William Carrier (illness), Malcolm Subban (illness)

Status report

Vlasic and Braun each will miss his fourth straight game. … Lagace was recalled from Chicago of the American Hockey League on Wednesday to back up Fleury in Subban's absence.

Stat pack

Burns has 14 points (four goals, 10 assists) in his past seven games. ... Donskoi has nine points (seven goals, two assists) in his past seven games.