Golden Knights at Sharks preview

GOLDEN KNIGHTS (1-0-0) at SHARKS (0-1-0)
10:30 p.m. ET; NBCSCA, ATTSN-RM SN, ESPN+, NHL.TV

The defenseman did not play in a season-opening 4-1 loss to the Golden Knights on Wednesday.
Vegas will play at SAP Center for the first time since losing Game 7 in overtime of a first-round Stanley Cup Playoff matchup last season after San Jose rallied from down three goals in the third period.

Players to watch

Golden Knights rookie defenseman Nicolas Hague will make his NHL debut. Hague, the No. 34 pick in the 2017 NHL Draft, had 13 goals and 32 points in 80 games over the past two seasons with Chicago of the American Hockey League.
Sharks forward Logan Couture has seven points (three goals, four assists) in nine regular-season games against the Golden Knights.

They said it

"We've got to play the same way. The home opener was a good game, we had a lot of excitement in our building. So we've got to come on the road, play a real good game here against a real good team." -- Golden Knights coach Gerard Gallant
"If we don't play better than we did last game, two Erik Karlsson's aren't going to help us win. He's going to help, but we've got to be better as a group." -- Sharks coach Peter DeBoer

Golden Knights projected lineup

Jonathan Marchessault -- William Karlsson -- Reilly Smith
Max Pacioretty -- Cody Glass -- Mark Stone
Brandon Pirri -- Paul Stastny -- Valentin Zykov
William Carrier -- Tomas Nosek -- Ryan Reaves
Brayden McNabb -- Shea Theodore
Jon Merrill -- Nick Holden
Nicolas Hague -- Deryk Engelland
Marc-Andre Fleury
Malcolm Subban
Scratched:Jimmy Schuldt, Nicolas Roy
Injured: Nate Schmidt (knee), Alex Tuch (undisclosed), Cody Eakin (undisclosed)

Sharks projected lineup

Timo Meier -- Logan Couture -- Danil Yurtaykin
Lukas Radil -- Tomas Hertl -- Kevin Labanc
Marcus Sorensen -- Joe Thornton -- Melker Karlsson
Lean Bergmann -- Barclay Goodrow -- Dylan Gambrell
Marc-Edouard Vlasic -- Brent Burns
Brenden Dillon -- Erik Karlsson
Mario Ferraro -- Tim Heed
Martin Jones
Aaron Dell
Scratched: Jonny Brodzinski, Tim Heed, Jacob Middleton
Injured:Dalton Prout (upper body)
Suspended:Evander Kane

Status report

Schmidt is week-to-week, according to Gallant. … The Sharks recalled Middleton from San Jose of the AHL. He is not expected to play … Kane will serve the second game of a three-game suspension.

Stat pack

San Jose is playing the same team in a home-and-home to open a season in North America for the first time since its inaugural season in 1991-92 (Vancouver Canucks). … Burns is two goals from 200 in the NHL. … Fleury is expected to play his 800th game. … Stastny has 28 points (eight goals, 20 assists) in 40 games against San Jose.