Golden Knights at Sharks preview

GOLDEN KNIGHTS (35-14-4) AT SHARKS (28-17-8)
10:30 p.m. ET; NBCSCA, ATTSN-RM, SN360, NHL.TV

The expansion Golden Knights have 74 points, 10 more than the second-place Sharks.
Goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury will make his 23rd start of the season for Vegas, which is 3-2-0 entering the finale of a six-game road trip. Fleury is 12-4-1 with a 1.88 goals-against average, .937 save percentage and two shutouts in his past 17 starts.
Goalie Martin Jones will start for the Sharks, who return home after a 2-2-1 road trip. Jones is 1-1-1 with a 1.30 GAA in his past three starts after going 0-2-0 with a 4.70 GAA in his previous two.

Players to watch

Golden Knights forward David Perron is expected to play his 700th NHL game. He has 13 points (four goals, nine assists) in his past 10.
Sharks forward Kevin Labanc has six points (two goals, four assists) in his past six games.

They said it

"It's a big challenge early on. You're just happy to be in the League, you're just happy to get one game. I am at 700. I'm proud that I still feel like every game is a new day for me and I never took anything for granted, and hopefully I keep that mentality forever." -- Golden Knights forward David Perron
"I'm sure the guys in that room feel like they have a chip on their shoulder, something to prove to the teams that let them go as well as the rest of the League, that they weren't just going to be a pushover this year. They've done a tremendous job. They come at you in waves. Pretty remarkable season for them so far."-- Sharks forward Logan Couture on Vegas

Golden Knights projected lineup

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

Sharks projected lineup

Tomas Hertl -- Logan Couture -- Kevin Labanc
Timo Meier -- Joe Pavelski -- Joonas Donskoi
Mikkel Boedker -- Chris Tierney -- Melker Karlsson
Barclay Goodrow -- Danny O'Regan -- Joel Ward
Joakim Ryan -- Brent Burns
Marc-Edouard Vlasic -- Justin Braun
Brenden Dillon -- Dylan DeMelo
Martin Jones
Aaron Dell
Scratched:Jannik Hansen
Injured:Joe Thornton (knee)

Status report

Carrier remained in Las Vegas and will miss his second straight game. ... Thornton will miss his seventh straight game. The Sharks are 2-3-1 without him.

Stat pack

The Golden Knights are 22-2-0 when scoring first with a League-leading .917 winning percentage. ... Burns has 19 points (three goals, 16 assists) in his past 17 games.