Pittsburgh @ Vegas preview

Last Meeting ( Oct 19, 2019 ) Vegas 3, Pittsburgh 0

The Vegas Golden Knights have put their best foot forward to begin their season-high seven-game homestand, highlighting that surge by defeating the defending Stanley Cup champions in their last outing. Vegas will vie for its season-high fifth straight victory on Tuesday when the Pittsburgh Penguins pay a visit to T-Mobile Arena.

Marc-Andre Fleury has been in net for all four contests thus far on the homestand and is expected to get the nod again versus the team with which he won three Stanley Cups. Fleury got the better of his former club in the first meeting this season, turning aside all 29 shots he faced in the Golden Knights' 3-0 victory in Pittsburgh on Oct. 19. Whether the 35-year-old faces former teammate Sidney Crosby is open for debate as the two-time Hart Trophy recipient traveled with the Penguins on their upcoming three-game road trip. Crosby has been sidelined since undergoing surgery to repair a core muscle injury on Nov. 14.

TIME: 10 p.m. ET. TV: Sportsnet, Sportsnet 1, AT&T SportsNet-Pittsburgh, AT&T SportsNet-Rocky Mountains

ABOUT THE PENGUINS (25-12-5): Pittsburgh boasts a 15-6-4 record without Crosby and had won 10 of 12 games before dropping two of its last three contests. Jared McCann scored versus his former team in Sunday's 4-1 setback to Florida, but the Penguins appeared to run out of gas after playing three games in four nights. "I don't think we had the juice that we have had in a number of the games, in most of the games this year," Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. "But I think one of the challenges of this league is the grind of the schedule and good teams just have to understand how to manage those games."

ABOUT THE GOLDEN KNIGHTS (24-15-6): Paul Stastny scored to record his fifth point (three goals, two assists) in seven games on Saturday to help Vegas overcome a three-goal deficit for the first time in franchise history in its 5-4 overtime victory over St. Louis. The 34-year-old netted a power-play goal in the first meeting with Pittsburgh to give him 14 points in 17 career encounters with the club. Max Pacioretty, who set up Stastny's tally against the Penguins, has boosted his team-leading totals in goals (18) and assists (25) with three and four, respectively, in his last six games.

OVERTIME

1. Pittsburgh C Evgeni Malkin, who leads the team with 28 assists, sits one shy of tying Jaromir Jagr (640) for third place on the franchise's career assist list.

2. Vegas C Cody Eakin (head) shed a no-contact jersey in practice on Monday and could return to the lineup for the first time since Nov. 29.

3. Penguins RW Bryan Rust has 17 points (eight goals, nine assists) in his last dozen games.

PREDICTION: Golden Knights 4, Penguins 2