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GAME DAY: Golden Knights finish 4-game road trip in Columbus

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Golden Knights complete their four-game road trip Monday when they face the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena.

Opening faceoff is 4 p.m. Pacific time, and the game will be televised on AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain.

The Knights are 2-0-1 on their swing through the Metropolitan Division following Sunday’s 4-3 overtime victory over the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden.

This is the second game of a back-to-back for the Knights, which normally would be a spot for backup goaltender Malcolm Subban to play.

Subban hasn’t appeared since a 7-2 loss at Calgary on Nov. 19 and is 0-4 with a 4.02 goals-against average and .859 save percentage in five games.

The Knights (19-14-2, 40 points) played a day game in New York on Sunday and traveled to Columbus afterward, and the added rest could allow Marc-Andre Fleury to make his 14th consecutive start.

Fleury leads the league with 19 victories and 31 starts, and he is 10-2-1 with a 2.53 GAA and .914 SV% since Nov. 21.

Defenseman Deryk Engelland and forward Ryan Reaves were scratched against the Rangers and it is not known whether either will return to the lineup against the Blue Jackets.

The Knights did not have a morning skate Monday, and coach Gerard Gallant said he will no longer provide pregame updates on lineups.

Columbus (17-12-3, 37 points) is playing its fourth straight Pacific Division opponent as part of a season-long six-game homestand.

The Blue Jackets are coming off a 2-1 overtime loss to Anaheim on Saturday and have struggled at Nationwide Arena, compiling a 8-7-2 home record.

“I think we should have more points out of these three games than we have, but I think a lot of coaches can stand up at the podium and say that during the year,” coach John Tortorella said. “I’m going to judge the team on how they’re playing. I think we have found a good little piece here in these three games of playing the right way. We just have to stay with it.”

Cam Atkinson (19-15 —34) and Artemi Panarin (9-25 —34) lead Columbus in scoring. The Blue Jackets are on pace to set a franchise record for goals in a season and rank eighth in the league in goals per game at 3.34.

Forward Nick Foligno is one game away from his 800th career NHL appearance.

The Blue Jackets recalled defenseman Dean Kukan from his conditioning assignment with Cleveland (AHL) on Monday morning.

Golden Knights projected lineup

Forwards

Jonathan Marchessault-William Karlsson-Reilly Smith

Max Pacioretty-Paul Stastny-Alex Tuch

Tomas Nosek-Cody Eakin-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

More Golden Knights: Follow at reviewjournal.com/GoldenKnights and @HockeyinVegas on Twitter.

Contact David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow @DavidSchoenLVRJ on Twitter.

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