Fleury reaches milestone in Golden Knights victory against Coyotes

LAS VEGAS -- Marc-Andre Fleury made 27 saves to move into a tie for sixth place on the NHL's all-time wins list, and the Vegas Golden Knights defeated the Arizona Coyotes 4-1 at T-Mobile Arena on Saturday.

Fleury tied Curtis Joseph with his 454th victory in his 825th game. He trails Henrik Lundqvist of the New York Rangers by four wins for fifth place.
"Like I've said before, it's humbling to be among these guys," Fleury said. "CuJo is a guy I grew up watching; his feistiness and his battle in the game. I've been fortunate myself to play with good teams and good players."
WATCH: [All Coyotes vs. Golden Knights highlights]
It was Fleury's first win in three starts. He allowed 12 goals in his previous two; five in a 5-4 overtime loss at the Vancouver Canucks on Dec. 19, and an NHL career-high seven Monday in a 7-3 home loss to the Colorado Avalanche.
"Those last two before the break was frustrating and embarrassing a bit too, at home, giving up seven goals in front of our fans," Fleury said. "It was good to get a little break."
Mark Stone scored twice, and Shea Theodore had three assists for the Golden Knights (21-15-6), who had lost two in a row, including 4-3 at the Anaheim Ducks on Friday.

This was the first of a seven-game homestand for Vegas.
"We knew it was an important game, with the opponent, starting a homestand," Golden Knights forward Max Pacioretty said. "I thought we had a little bit of an advantage having already played a game after the break, even though it was a back-to-back, to have our legs under us."
Michael Grabner scored for the Coyotes (21-15-4), who lost their second consecutive game after alternating wins and losses in their previous 10 games. Antti Raanta allowed four goals on 16 shots and was pulled in the second period. Adin Hill made 20 saves in relief.
"We didn't have our legs," Coyotes coach Rick Tocchet said. "Vegas looked stronger, faster. They were the better team, and it showed."

Vegas forward Ryan Reaves was called for a high-sticking double-minor at 3:29 of the first period. The Golden Knights allowed one shot on goal in the four-minute stretch. They allowed two power-play goals in 1:23 on Friday following a double-minor called on forward Tomas Nosek.
Coyotes forward Taylor Hall was called for tripping six seconds after the Reaves penalty ended. Stone scored his first goal at 9:05, on that power play, for a 1-0 lead.
"We took the four-minute penalty, so I think [Nate Schmidt], [William Karlsson], myself, [forward] Chandler [Stephenson], [Paul Stastny] and Nosek had to buckle up for four and we did a good job with the kill, and right after that we got a power play," Stone said. "I think special teams really kind of dictated the ice time."

Arizona went 0-for-5 on the power play and Vegas went 2-for-3.
"A little disappointed," Tocchet said. "We just didn't generate much. We were passing too much and that gave them some juice. They were the better team."
Grabner tied it at 1-1 at 13:31 but Stone scored his second at 15:06 to make it 2-1.
Stephenson scored 12 seconds into the second period to increase the Golden Knights lead to 3-1, and Stastny made it 4-1 at 1:54.

They said it

"I think it was just compete level. I think they competed a little bit harder than us. They looked like a really good team, and us, not so much." -- Coyotes defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson
"We [Stone and I] feel like leaders on the team. Whether it's on the ice or off the ice, there are opportunities to get the team going, and I think [Stone] was really buzzing from the start. The game's always a lot easier when you contribute offensively early on." -- Golden Knights forward Max Pacioretty

Need to know

Arizona forward Nick Schmaltz had his four-game point streak end. He had seven assists in the run. … It was Stone's first two-goal game with Vegas in the regular season. He had two such games in the Western Conference First Round against the San Jose Sharks last season. … Vegas reassigned forward Keegan Kolesar to Chicago of the American Hockey League after the game. … Theodore's three assists tied an NHL career high set two other times (Dec. 19, 2017 against the Tampa Bay Lightning, and Dec. 15 against Vancouver). … Pacioretty had two assists, giving him 14 points (six goals, eight assists) in the past 10 games.

What's next

Coyotes: Host the Dallas Stars on Sunday (8 p.m. ET; FS-A, FS-A PLUS, FS-SW, NHL.TV)
Golden Knights: Host the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday (3 p.m. ET; SN1, SN (JIP), ATTSN-RM, FS-W, NHL.TV)