Golden Knights at Coyotes
Saturday's contest between the Vegas Golden Knights and host Arizona Coyotes is a matchup between the first- and last-place teams in the Pacific Division. Surprising to most, the expansion Golden Knights are the ones at the top of the division as they vie for their season high-tying fifth consecutive victory.
Each win during Vegas' current run has come against a Pacific rival, including Friday's 5-4 overtime triumph over San Jose in which Jonathan Marchessault notched two assists before scoring 1:21 into the extra session. William Karlsson, who leads the team with 20 points, is riding a four-game goal-scoring streak and has recorded two points in each of those contests after tallying twice against the Sharks. Arizona occupies the basement in the division despite having won four of its last five games. The Coyotes split the first two contests of their three-game homestand, dropping a 3-1 decision to San Jose on Wednesday before edging Los Angeles 3-2 in overtime Friday.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, AT&T SportsNet-Rocky Mountain (Vegas), FSN Arizona
ABOUT THE GOLDEN KNIGHTS (14-6-1): Karlsson has scored six goals during his streak, giving him a career high as he enters Saturday tied with James Neal for the team lead with 12. The 24-year-old Swede's previous best of nine tallies was reached in 2015-16 while with Columbus. Malcolm Subban recorded the win against the Sharks after stopping all three shots he faced in relief of Maxime Lagace in his first appearance since suffering a lower-body injury on Oct. 21.
ABOUT THE COYOTES (6-16-3): Christian Fischer, who also notched an assist, scored 2:43 into overtime Friday, giving the 20-year-old rookie a team-leading two game-winning goals. Brendan Perlini is riding a three-game goal-scoring streak while defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson has recorded at least one point in four straight contests after converting a power-play opportunity against the Kings. Rookie Clayton Keller leads the team with 11 goals but is in the midst of a nine-game drought.
OVERTIME
1. Golden Knights LW David Perron, who is tied for second on the team with 19 points, left Friday's game with an upper-body injury and is day-to-day.
2. Arizona G Marek Langhamer was recalled from Tucson of the American Hockey League and served as the backup Friday because of the absence of Antti Raanta (upper body).
3. Neal has registered a goal and an assist in each of his last two games and at least one point in seven of his last nine.