Golden Knights at Penguins preview
Fleury starts for Vegas against former team; Pittsburgh goes for sixth straight win
by Wes Crosby / NHL.com Independent Correspondent
GOLDEN KNIGHTS (5-3-0) at PENGUINS (6-2-0)
7 p.m. ET; ATTSN-PT, ATTSN-RM, NHL.TV
The Game
Marc-Andre Fleury will start for the Vegas Golden Knights against his former team for the second time in Pittsburgh when they face the Penguins at PPG Paints Arena on Saturday.
Fleury allowed five goals on 33 shots in a 5-4 loss to the Penguins in his return on Feb. 6, 2018. He played for Pittsburgh from 2003-17, winning the Stanley Cup in 2009, 2016 and 2017.
Goalie Malcolm Subban, who is out with a lower-body injury, started in a 4-2 loss to the Penguins when the Golden Knights last played in Pittsburgh on Oct. 11, 2018.
Fleury needs one victory to tie Terry Sawchuk (445) for seventh on the NHL all-time wins list. Vegas has won three of its past four games (3-1-0), including a 3-2 shootout victory against the Ottawa Senators on Thursday.
Pittsburgh has outscored its opponents 23-11 during a five-game winning streak. It will play the second half of a home back-to-back after defeating the Dallas Stars 4-2 on Friday.
Players to watch
Golden Knights forward Mark Stone has five points (three goals, two assists) on a four-game point streak.
Penguins forward Jake Guentzel has eight points (five goals, three assists) during an NHL career-long seven-game point streak.
They said it
"It's still weird every time I come back just to be on this side of the locker room. But it's fun. I've so many good memories in this place." -- Golden Knights goalie Marc-Andre Fleury
"We're trying to establish an identity for our team. I think that's what we're starting to build on right now." -- Penguins defenseman Kris Letang
Golden Knights projected lineup
Jonathan Marchessault -- William Karlsson -- Reilly Smith
Max Pacioretty -- Paul Stastny -- Mark Stone
Brandon Pirri -- Cody Eakin -- Cody Glass
William Carrier -- Tomas Nosek -- Ryan Reaves
Brayden McNabb -- Shea Theodore
Jon Merrill -- Nick Holden
Jake Bischoff -- Deryk Engelland
Marc-Andre Fleury
Oscar Dansk
Scratched: Nicolas Hague
Injured: Nate Schmidt (lower body), Alex Tuch (upper body), Zach Whitecloud (upper body), Malcolm Subban (lower body)
Suspended: Valentin Zykov
Penguins projected lineup
Jake Guentzel -- Sidney Crosby -- Dominik Simon
Dominik Kahun -- Jared McCann -- Patric Hornqvist
Zach Aston-Reese -- Teddy Blueger -- Brandon Tanev
Adam Johnson -- Joseph Blandisi -- Sam Lafferty
Brian Dumoulin -- Kris Letang
Marcus Pettersson -- Justin Schultz
Erik Gudbranson -- John Marino
Tristan Jarry
Matt Murray
Scratched: Chad Ruhwedel, Jack Johnson, Juuso Riikola
Injured: Evgeni Malkin (lower body), Nick Bjugstad (lower body), Bryan Rust (upper body), Alex Galchenyuk (lower body), Zach Trotman (sports hernia surgery)
Status report
Bischoff will make his NHL debut on Vegas' third defense pair. ... Jarry could start for Pittsburgh after Murray made 22 saves against Dallas on Friday. The Penguins did not hold a morning skate.
Stat pack
Pacioretty is three points from 500 in the NHL. He has six points (one goal, five assists) in his past four games. ... Crosby leads the Penguins with 12 points (four goals, eight assists) in eight games this season.