Golden Knights at Hurricanes preview
Vegas seeks second win in eight games; Haula faces former team for first time with Carolina
by Kurt Dusterberg / NHL.com Independent Correspondent
GOLDEN KNIGHTS (25-20-7) at HURRICANES (29-18-3)
7:30 p.m. ET; FS-CR, ATTSN-RM, NHL.TV
The Game
Carolina Hurricanes forward Erik Haula will play his first game against his former team when the Vegas Golden Knights visit PNC Arena.
Haula, who played the past two seasons with the Golden Knights, was traded to the Hurricanes on June 27 for forward Nicolas Roy and a conditional fifth-round pick in the 2021 NHL Draft.
The Golden Knights and Hurricanes will each play their first games following the League-mandated break after the 2020 Honda NHL All-Star Game.
The Hurricanes, who have won two straight after a three-game winless streak, are 5-2-1 in the past eight games. It's their first game since a 4-1 victory against the Winnipeg Jets on Jan. 21.
Malcolm Subban will start in goal for the Golden Knights, who are 0-1-1 in their past two games and 1-5-1 in their past seven after a four-game winning streak. This is their fifth in a stretch of eight straight road games.
Players to watch
Golden Knights forward Max Pacioretty has 23 points (13 goals, 10 assists) in 27 games against the Hurricanes.
Hurricanes forward Justin Williams has two goals and a shootout-deciding goal in two games since making his season debut on Jan. 19.
They said it
"Usually the smarter team wins these games. You've got to come out, manage the puck and not try to do too much. At the same time, you want to establish your game and be aggressive. They're hard games to play after long layoffs. Goaltending and special teams are going to be real important." -- Golden Knights coach Pete DeBoer
"If you watch some of these games coming out of the break, it's a little bit sloppy. It's just a matter of getting to your game to give yourself a chance. If that's all going, then you start worrying about what the other team is doing. It always comes down to your execution." -- Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour
Golden Knights projected lineup
Jonathan Marchessault -- Paul Stastny -- Reilly Smith
Max Pacioretty -- Chandler Stephenson -- Mark Stone
William Carrier -- Cody Eakin -- Alex Tuch
Tomas Nosek -- Nicolas Roy -- Ryan Reaves
Brayden McNabb -- Nate Schmidt
Nick Holden -- Shea Theodore
Jon Merrill -- Deryk Engelland
Malcolm Subban
Scratched: None
Injured: William Karlsson (upper body), Cody Glass (lower body)
Suspended: Marc-Andre Fleury
Hurricanes projected lineup
Ryan Dzingel -- Sebastian Aho -- Teuvo Teravainen
Warren Foegele -- Jordan Staal -- Andrei Svechnikov
Brock McGinn -- Erik Haula -- Martin Necas
Jordan Martinook -- Lucas Wallmark -- Justin Williams
Jaccob Slavin -- Joel Edmundson
Jake Gardiner -- Brett Pesce
Trevor van Riemsdyk -- Haydn Fleury
Petr Mrazek
James Reimer
Scratched: Nino Niederreiter
Injured: Dougie Hamilton (fractured left leg)
Status report
Fleury, the Golden Knights' No. 1 goalie, will serve a one-game suspension for missing the 2020 Honda NHL All-Star Game. Steve Spott, who was hired as an assistant by Vegas on Tuesday, will make his debut. He served as an assistant under DeBoer with the San Jose Sharks from 2015-19. … Niederreiter was the extra forward during line rushes, but Brind'Amour would not confirm that he would be a healthy scratch.
Stat pack
Stone has eight points (six goals, two assists) in 12 games against the Hurricanes. Stastny has four points (two goals, two assists) in his past three games. … Teravainen has seven points (two goals, five assists) in his past six games. Dzingel has four points (three goals, one assist) in four games against Vegas.