Golden Knights at Blackhawks preview

GOLDEN KNIGHTS (27-16-4) at BLACKHAWKS (16-22-8)
8:30 p.m. ET; ESPN+, WGN, ATTSN-RM, NHL.TV

The Blackhawks are 0-5-0 against the Golden Knights since Vegas entered the NHL for the 2017-18 season. Chicago is 1-2-2 in their last five games overall after going 5-1-0 in its previous six.
Vegas, which had its seven-game winning streak end in a 3-2 loss to the San Jose Sharks Thursday, is 8-1-2 in its past 11 games.
Golden Knights forward Brandon Pirri, a second round pick by the Blackhawks in the 2009 NHL Draft, has 11 points (seven goals, four assists) in nine games with Vegas after being recalled from the Chicago Wolves of the American Hockey League.

Players to watch

Golden Knights forward Alex Tuch has nine points (two goals, seven assists) in an eight-game point streak.
Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane has eight points (two goals, six assists) in a four-game point streak and 21 points (nine goals, 12 assists) in his past 12 games.

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They said it

"I got to be good every game and prove myself every game, because if I don't I'll be back in Chicago (in the American Hockey League). I believe in myself and every game I'm treating it like this is an opportunity to show that I should be here." -- Golden Knights forward Brandon Pirri
"I think the power play has been much better. We're getting momentum off it, we're getting big goals off it, goaltending certainly is a big part of our success. I think we're more consistent with our compete level." -- Blackhawks coach Jeremy Colliton

Golden Knights projected lineup

Jonathan Marchessault -- William Karlsson -- Brandon Pirri
Max Pacioretty -- Paul Stastny -- Alex Tuch
Oscar Lindberg -- Cody Eakin -- Ryan Carpenter
Tomas Nosek -- 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), Colin Miller (undisclosed)

Blackhawks projected lineup

Alex DeBrincat -- Jonathan Toews -- Dominik Kahun
Artem Anisimov -- Dylan Strome -- Patrick Kane
Brandon Saad -- David Kampf -- Drake Caggiula
Brendan Perlini -- Marcus Kruger -- John Hayden
Duncan Keith -- Erik Gustafsson
Henri Jokiharju -- Brent Seabrook
Carl Dahlstrom -- Connor Murphy
Collin Delia
Cam Ward
Scratched: Chris Kunitz, Brandon Davidson, Slater Koekkoek
Injured: Corey Crawford (concussion), Gustav Forsling (upper-torso)

Status report

The Blackhawks acquired defenseman Koekkoek and a fifth-round pick in the 2019 NHL Draft in exchange for defenseman Jan Rutta and a 2019 seventh-round pick on Friday. … Seabrook (illness) and Keith (illness) are expected to play.

Stat pack

Fleury is 7-1-2 with a 2.19 goals-against average and a .925 save percentage and one shutout in his past 10 starts and needs one game to pass Tom Barrasso (777) for sole possession of 20th place on NHL all-time list. … DeBrincat has a goal in three-straight games. … Keith has four points (one goals, three assists) in a four-game point streak.