Vancouver @ Vegas preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 29, 2018 ) Vegas 4, Vancouver 3

The Vegas Golden Knights are firmly in playoff position and they have Marc-Andre Fleury mostly to thank as they host the Vancouver Canucks on Sunday. The veteran goaltender recorded his league-leading seventh shutout and 31st victory of the season in Friday's 3-0 win at Anaheim that gave Vegas three straight triumphs and a comfortable third-place spot in the Pacific Division.

"The win is awesome but the amount of times he shuts a team out is phenomenal. It gives us energy," Golden Knights forward Alex Tuch told reporters about Fleury, who has played a league-most 55 games this season. "He's probably the biggest part of our team's success right now." Vancouver is fading from the Western Conference wild-card race after losing 5-2 at Arizona on Thursday for its second straight setback and fifth in the last six games (1-3-2). "I thought we showed a little immaturity in our game tonight," Canucks coach Travis Green told reporters. "We weren't smart enough with our effort and gave them a couple of goals that you can't give up at this time of the year." The clubs split their first two of four meetings this season as both were decided by one goal and won by the visiting team with Vegas forward Max Pacioretty scoring three times, giving him 11 goals and 17 points in 18 games against Vancouver.

TV: 4 p.m. ET, Sportsnet Pacific (Vancouver), AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain (Vegas)

ABOUT THE CANUCKS (27-29-9): Calder Trophy favorite Elias Pettersson leads the club - and NHL rookies by a wide margin - with 26 goals and 56 points, but has been held off the scoresheet in four of his last five games. Tanner Pearson on Thursday scored his first goal with Vancouver - his third team this season - in his second game since being acquired from Pittsburgh via Los Angeles, giving him 10 goals for his fifth straight double-digit campaign. Alexander Edler (20 points, plus-2 in 39 games) recorded five blocked shots and was a minus-1 in 23 minutes, 12 seconds of ice time against Arizona in his first contest since missing 11 with a facial injury.

ABOUT THE GOLDEN KNIGHTS (35-26-5): Johnathan Marchessault (team-high 20 goals along with Pacioretty) recorded his club-best 45th point Friday, giving him a goal and four assists in his last five games. Alex Tuch (17 goals, 44 points) snapped a 14-game scoreless drought with a goal Friday, telling reporters: "It felt pretty big for me. At times, when you're not scoring over a long stretch of games, you get a little down on yourself, but I just wanted to come in and backcheck hard, forecheck even harder, and do what it takes for my team to win." Mark Stone (28 goals, 63 points this season) recorded an assist Friday for his first point with Vegas in his third game since being acquired from Ottawa.

OVERTIME

1. Golden Knights D Shea Theodore recorded his career-high 30th point Friday after posting 29 in 61 games last season.

2. The Canucks are 1-for-21 on the power play in their last six games while the Golden Knights killed only 4-of-9 penalties in the three contests prior to going 2-for-2 on Friday.

3. Fleury is ninth all-time with 435 victories - third among active goaltenders behind Florida's Roberto Luongo and the New York Rangers' Henrik Lundqvist.

PREDICTION: Golden Knights 3, Canucks 2