Golden Knights defeat Avalanche to extend winning streak to 10

LAS VEGAS -- The Vegas Golden Knights defeated the Colorado Avalanche 5-2 to extend their winning streak to 10 games at T-Mobile Arena on Wednesday.

Vegas leads Colorado by six points for first place in the Honda West Division. Each team has already clinched a berth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
"Huge result for the standings," Golden Knights coach Peter DeBoer said. "We've still got a lot of business to take care of over the next two weeks. It sets us up where our destiny is in our own hands."
Max Pacioretty had two goals and an assist, and Mark Stone had a goal and two assists for the Golden Knights (35-11-2), whose streak is the longest in their history. Marc-Andre Fleury made 35 saves for his 488th win, one shy of tying Roberto Luongo for third in NHL history.
"Still a lot of the season to be played," Pacioretty said. "With eight games left, we know we're in a good position right now. However, we know we have to play better when they have their full lineup."
Devon Toews and Ryan Graves scored for the Avalanche (31-12-4), who have lost three in a row after winning their previous five. Devan Dubnyk made 21 saves.
"Losing three straight isn't something we're familiar with very often here," Toews said. "This little stretch we know isn't going to last."
Colorado leads the Minnesota Wild by one point for second place in the division.
"You look at these three teams and they're all really good hockey teams," Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. "There's six points between us could have been smaller if we had won. I think [Vegas] is a real good hockey team and can win on any given night."
William Karlsson scored 10 seconds into the game to give the Golden Knights a 1-0 lead. It was the fastest goal to start a game in team history; Karlsson scored 14 seconds in against the San Jose Sharks on Nov. 24, 2018.

Toews tied it 1-1 at 13:43 after getting to the loose puck during a scramble in the crease.
Pacioretty made it 2-1 at 9:36 of the second period on the power play, catching Dubnyk off guard with a shot from along the left boards.
Stone then made it 3-1 at 14:39 when he banked a shot off Dubnyk's back from below the goal line. Pacioretty's assist on the play was his 300th in the NHL.
The Golden Knights have scored at least three goals eight times during their winning streak.
"I've coached teams where it's been a real grind to get three goals," DeBoer said. "I think we're scoring different ways. The guys getting paid to score have done it all year."
Graves cut it to 3-2 at 17:06 of the second. Nathan MacKinnon had the assist to extend his point streak to 15 games (nine goals, 17 assists), the longest in the NHL this season.
Pacioretty scored his second goal 55 seconds into the third period to make it 4-2, converting off a pass from Stone on a 2-on-1.

Jonathan Marchessault shot into an empty net at 18:41 for the 5-2 final.
"Big win for us," Stone said. "We've been playing some good hockey, but we want to play the best. It was nice to play them and see where we're at. I thought we had a pretty good game. There's things we can clean up, but getting the two points, creating some separation, was huge for us."
The Avalanche played without goaltender Philipp Grubauer and forwards Mikko Rantanen and Joonas Donskoi, each of whom has recently been removed from COVID-19 protocol.
"You can't depend on having your full lineup," Graves said. "I think we know where we match up. We're a resilient group."
NOTES:MacKinnon's point streak is the longest by an Avalanche player since Paul Stastny had a 20-game streak from Feb. 3-March 17, 2007. … Pacioretty extended his point streak to eight games (five goals, nine assists). … Golden Knights defenseman Shea Theodore extended his point streak to five games (one goal, seven assists). … DeBoer won his 50th game with Vegas (50-16-4).