Golden Knights at Islanders preview
Vegas goes for fifth straight win; New York 2-3-0 in past six following 17-game point streak
by Brian Compton @BComptonNHL / NHL.com Deputy Managing Editor
GOLDEN KNIGHTS (15-11-4) at ISLANDERS (18-6-2)
7 p.m. ET; MSG+, ATTSN-RM, NHL.TV
The Game
The Vegas Golden Knights will try to win their fifth straight game when they visit the New York Islanders at Nassau Coliseum on Thursday.
It's the last of a three-game road trip through the New York metropolitan area for Vegas, which defeated the New York Rangers (4-1) and New Jersey Devils (4-3) on back-to-back nights Monday and Tuesday, respectively. The Golden Knights have scored four goals in three of the four games during their winning streak.
New York, which is 2-3-0 in its previous six games following a team-record 17 game point streak (15-0-2), returns to Nassau Coliseum for the first time since Nov. 13; the Islanders played their past two home games at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
Players to watch
Golden Knights forward Jonathan Marchessault scored a natural hat trick against the Devils and has a three-game point streak (three goals, two assists).
Islanders goalie Semyon Varlamov has allowed one goal on his past 61 shots faced.
They said it
"I think we've had a little bit more luck. We were playing decent hockey, just inconsistent a lot night after night. It's fun to have some consistency in our game and we're playing with confidence right now. It's been good, so we want to keep it going." -- Golden Knights forward Jonathan Marchessault
"It's a really good test, it's a great team coming off a Stanley Cup Final appearance (in 2018). ... It's a great team, a lot of talent, a lot of grit, so it's a really good matchup for us tonight." -- Islanders forward Cal Clutterbuck
Golden Knights projected lineup
Jonathan Marchessault -- William Karlsson -- Reilly Smith
Max Pacioretty -- Paul Stastny -- Mark Stone
William Carrier -- Cody Glass -- Alex Tuch
Tomas Nosek -- Chandler Stephenson -- Ryan Reaves
Brayden McNabb -- Nate Schmidt
Nicolas Hague -- Shea Theodore
Jon Merrill -- Deryk Engelland
Malcolm Subban
Marc-Andre Fleury
Scratched: Nick Holden
Injured: Cody Eakin (upper body)
Islanders projected lineup
Michael Dal Colle -- Mathew Barzal -- Josh Bailey
Anders Lee -- Derick Brassard -- Jordan Eberle
Anthony Beauvillier -- Brock Nelson -- Leo Komarov
Matt Martin -- Casey Cizikas -- Cal Clutterbuck
Adam Pelech -- Ryan Pulock
Devon Toews -- Scott Mayfield
Nick Leddy -- Johnny Boychuk
Semyon Varlamov
Thomas Greiss
Scratched: Ross Johnston, Otto Koivula, Noah Dobson
Injured: None
Status report
Fleury, who hasn't played since Nov. 23 because of a personal matter, returned to the Golden Knights and skated in the morning but will not play. Vegas coach Gerard Gallant said he'd like Fleury to see more shots in practice before getting his next start. … Clutterbuck participated in the morning skate and will play. He said he went through concussion protocol after being injured in the first period of a 4-2 loss at the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday. … The Islanders placed forward Tom Kuhnhackl on long-term injured reserve and sent him to Bridgeport of the American Hockey League.
Stat pack
Vegas won each game against New York last season. … Tuch has a three-game point streak (three goals, three assists). … Barzal has two goals and two assists during a three-game point streak. … The Islanders are 4-3-1 against the Western Conference; they are 14-3-1 against the East.