GAME DAY: Golden Knights visit Ducks to finish back-to-back

ANAHEIM, Calif. — The Golden Knights play the second game of a back-to-back Friday when they take on the Anaheim Ducks at Honda Center.

Opening faceoff is 7 p.m., and the game will be televised by AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain.

The Knights (34-26-5, 73 points) are coming off a 6-5 shootout victory over Florida on Thursday that kept them six points ahead of Arizona in the battle for third place in the Pacific Division.

Goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury is expected to start against the Ducks after serving as Malcolm Subban’s backup Thursday.

Fleury, tied with Toronto’s Frederik Andersen for the NHL lead with 30 victories, snapped a personal five-game losing streak in his most recent outing.

The Knights did not have a morning skate, and no lineup information was available.

This marks the beginning of a stretch that will see the Knights play seven of their next eight games against teams from the Pacific Division. They are 11-5-2 against the division.

The Knights are 3-0 vs. Anaheim this season.

Anaheim (24-31-9, 57 points) has lost four straight and sits seventh in the Pacific.

The Ducks were three points behind Calgary for the division lead Dec. 17 but have lost 24 of their past 29 games.

Ducks goaltender John Gibson practiced this week and was confirmed as the starter by Bob Murray, the team’s interim coach and general manager.

Gibson suffered a concussion when teammate Jaycob Megna plowed into him during a game against the Ottawa Senators on Feb. 7. The All-Star also had oral surgery last week to remove four wisdom teeth after his gums became infected.

Anaheim will be without leading scorer Ryan Getzlaf (39 points) for the fifth straight game because of an upper-body injury.

Corey Perry is set to appear in his 971st game with the Ducks, which would tie Getzlaf for most games played in franchise history.

Jakob Silfverberg, who recently agreed to a five-year contract extension, needs just one goal to reach 100 with the Ducks.

Golden Knights projected lineup

Forwards

Jonathan Marchessault-William Karlsson-Reilly Smith

Max Pacioretty-Paul Stastny-Mark Stone

Ryan Carpenter-Cody Eakin-Alex Tuch

Tomas Nosek-Pierre-Edouard Bellemare-Ryan Reaves

Defensemen

Nate Schmidt-Deryk Engelland

Brayden McNabb-Shea Theodore