Golden Knights at Ducks
The Vegas Golden Knights are well on their way to becoming the most successful expansion franchise in NHL history as they try for their fifth straight victory when they visit the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday. Vegas, which is 8-0-1 in its last nine games, shares first place in the Pacific Division with Los Angeles and its 48 points are tied for the most in the Western Conference along with Central leader St. Louis.
“We know we’ve had a good run here,” Golden Knights coach Gerard Gallant told reporters after Saturday's 3-0 victory over Washington capped a 4-0-1 homestand. “I told the guys to enjoy the next three days, get away from hockey and enjoy their families. Then come back and be ready to go.” Vegas, which has won seven straight versus Pacific teams, is third in the NHL in scoring at 3.44 goals per game. Anaheim returns home after a 3-2-1 road trip ended with victories over the New York Islanders 5-4 in overtime Thursday and Pittsburgh 4-0 on Saturday, and sits fourth in the Pacific but above the playoff line in eighth in the West. Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf has a six-game point streak with a goal and eight assists during that span while leading scorer Rickard Rakell (10 goals) has tallied in each of the last two contests and has a club-most 24 points, but is a team-worst minus-11.
TV: 10 p.m. ET, AT&T SportsNet-Rocky Mountain (Vegas), FSN Prime Ticket (Anaheim)
ABOUT THE GOLDEN KNIGHTS (23-9-2): James Neal boasts a team-leading 17 goals - three in his last four games - while Jonathan Marchessault leads the club with 32 points, including six in the last three contests. Forward William Karlsson is second in goals (16), points (28) and plus-minus (plus-11) with defenseman Brayden McNabb a plus-13. William Carrier (upper-body injury), who hasn't played since Nov. 25, and Luca Sbisa (lower-body, out since Dec. 12) remain day-to-day.
ABOUT THE DUCKS (16-13-8): John Gibson (11-11-4, 2.77 goals-against average, .922 save percentage) is coming off his first shutout of the season and has noticed a change in his team. "I think the last few games, we've obviously been playing a lot better, especially defensively," Gibson told reporters. "I think we're kind of getting in our zone and feeling confident. Definitely trending in the right direction." Ondrej Kase scored his ninth goal of the season Saturday, second-most on the team along with Jakob Silfverberg, and his plus-8 rating is best among forwards along with Andrew Cogliano.
OVERTIME
1. The 1993-94 Florida Panthers were the most successful expansion franchise in NHL history, going 33-34-17 for 83 points.
2. Vegas is 9-1-0 versus the Pacific Division while Anaheim is 3-2-4.
3. The Golden Knights won the first two meetings - 4-2 on Nov. 22 and 4-3 in a shootout Dec. 5.