GAME DAY: Golden Knights welcome back Capitals to Las Vegas
The Golden Knights host Washington on Tuesday in the Capitals’ first game at T-Mobile Arena since they clinched the Stanley Cup in June.
Opening faceoff is scheduled for 7 p.m., and the game will be televised on AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain.
The Knights lost 4-3 in Game 5 of the best-of-seven series, as Washington won its first championship in franchise history.
Washington defeated the Knights 5-2 in the team’s first meeting Oct. 10 at Capital One Arena, powered by a four-point performance from Evgeny Kuznetsov and two goals from Alex Ovechkin.
“You’ve got to set yourself up for a good December and starting at home,” defenseman Nate Schmidt said. “We’ve been on the road a lot. We’ve got to make sure you take care of business. You can put yourself in a good position after this month, or you’re looking at an uphill position after the month of December, and this is where you’ve got to start. You’ve got to start by beating good teams.”
The Knights (14-13-1, 29 points) had their five-game win streak snapped Saturday at Edmonton in a 2-1 loss.
Forward Max Pacioretty (illness) is a game-time decision, coach Gerard Gallant said. Oscar Lindberg would replace Pacioretty in the lineup if he can’t play.
Goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury was given Monday off to rest and will make his seventh consecutive start. He is tied for the league lead in starts with Ottawa’s Craig Anderson (24).
Washington (15-8-3, 33 points) leads the Metropolitan Division and won seven consecutive games before surrendering five unanswered goals against Anaheim in a 6-5 loss Sunday.
It was the first time a home team squandered a four-goal lead and lost in regulation since Colorado came back to beat Florida on March 3, 1999.
“Our leadership has been really strong at recognizing those points, and clearly it’s pointed out by our coaching staff what happened and why it happened, and now, what’s our response like?” Capitals coach Todd Reirden said. “Hopefully that serves as a tough reminder that it’s difficult to win in this league, regardless of what the score is.”
Capitals right wing Tom Wilson owns a career-high six-game goal streak and has eight goals and six assists in 10 games after missing the first 14 games due to suspension for an illegal check.
He avoided discipline from the league for a hit from behind to New Jersey’s Brett Seney on Friday.
Nicklas Backstrom leads Washington in scoring with 33 points (10 goals, 23 assists) and has at least one point in 12 of his past 14 games. The 31-year-old recently moved into second place on the franchise’s all-time points list behind Ovechkin.
Braden Holtby is expected to start in net for Washington.
Kuznetsov returned to the Capitals lineup Nov. 30 after missing a little more than two weeks with a concussion.
T.J. Oshie, who had six points in the Stanley Cup Final against the Knights, did not travel with the team and remains sidelined after suffering a concussion Nov. 14.
Golden Knights projected lineup
Forwards
Jonathan Marchessault-William Karlsson-Reilly Smith
Oscar Lindberg-Cody Eakin-Alex Tuch
Daniel Carr-Tomas Nosek-Ryan Carpenter
William Carrier-Pierre-Edouard Bellemare-Ryan Reaves
Defensemen
Brayden McNabb-Nate Schmidt
Shea Theodore-Deryk Engelland
Nick Holden-Colin Miller
Goaltender
Marc-Andre Fleury
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Contact David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow @DavidSchoenLVRJ on Twitter.
