Golden Knights at Ducks preview

GOLDEN KNIGHTS (23-9-2) at DUCKS (16-13-8)
10 p.m. ET; PRIME, ATTSN-RM, NHL.TV

Kesler, 33, had hip surgery on June 8. He was second on the Ducks last season with 58 points (22 goals, 36 assists) in 82 regular-season games and had eight points (one goal, seven assists) in 17 Stanley Cup Playoff games.
Vegas has won four consecutive games. The Golden Knights, Los Angeles Kings and St. Louis Blues lead the Western Conference with 48 points, but Vegas has played three fewer games than Los Angeles and four fewer than St. Louis. The Golden Knights are 2-0-0 against the Ducks and haven't lost in regulation since Dec. 1.

Players to watch

Golden Knights forward James Neal has four points (two goals, two assists) against the Ducks and eight points (five goals, three assists) in his past eight games.
Ducks center Ryan Getzlaf is on a season-high six-game point streak (1-8-9). He missed the two losses to Vegas after having facial surgery on Nov. 6 that sidelined him for six weeks.

They said it

"It's definitely a heavier style of game." -- Vegas defenseman Nate Schmidt on playing against Ryan Kesler and Ryan Getzlaf for the first time this season
"We know it takes players time to get their A game underneath them, but we know one thing about [Kesler], he'll be ready to battle." -- Ducks coach Randy Carlyle

Golden Knights projected lineup

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

Ducks projected lineup

Rickard Rakell -- Ryan Getzlaf -- Ondrej Kase
Kevin Roy -- Adam Henrique -- Jakob Silfverberg
Andrew Cogliano -- Ryan Kesler -- Chris Wagner
Nick Ritchie -- Antoine Vermette -- Logan Shaw
Hampus Lindholm -- Josh Manson
Cam Fowler -- Kevin Bieksa
Francois Beauchemin -- Brandon Montour
John Gibson
Ryan Miller
Scratched:Derek Grant, Dennis Rasmussen, Korbinian Holzer
Injured:Corey Perry (lower body), Patrick Eaves (illness)

Status report

Subban will make his second start since Dec. 8. Vegas plays at the Kings on Thursday. … Kesler's return bumped Grant from the lineup. He's fourth on the Ducks with seven goals in 37 games after scoring none in his first 86 NHL games.

Stat pack

Marchessault has two goals and four assists during a three-game point streak. ... Henrique has two points (one goal, one assist) in his past seven games. He had six points (three goals, three assists) in his first five games with Anaheim after being acquired in a trade with the New Jersey Devils on Nov. 30.