Fleury gets 19-save shutout for Golden Knights against Islanders

LAS VEGAS -- Marc-Andre Fleury made 19 saves for his 60th NHL shutout, and the Vegas Golden Knights defeated the New York Islanders 1-0 at T-Mobile Arena on Saturday.

"It gets so frustrating when you allow that many goals," Fleury said about allowing nine goals his previous two starts. "I think there was some bad luck sometimes, but our team played very well defensively tonight."
Reilly Smith scored the only goal for the Golden Knights (30-22-8), who have won two straight and are 5-2-1 in their past eight games. Vegas is tied with the Edmonton Oilers for second place in the Pacific Division and trails the Vancouver Canucks by one point for first.
"It's the will. Things are coming down pretty tight in the standings and guys are really stepping up, guys are getting in the lanes," Golden Knights defenseman Shea Theodore said. "Fleury's] been playing great back there and that's always nice to have."
***[WATCH: [All Islanders vs. Golden Knights highlights]*
Semyon Varlamov made a season-high 42 saves for the Islanders (33-18-6), who were shut out for the second consecutive game after losing 5-0 to the Nashville Predators on Thursday.
"I thought we had a good start today," Varlamov said. "We played well in the first period. … Vegas started creating scoring chances in the second period. So we go into the third period with the score 1-0, and I thought we had some chances to score but just couldn't tie the game."
Said Islanders coach Barry Trotz, "We've got to score a goal. We haven't scored a goal in two games. You have to pressure them. I don't think we did that. It's a shame we wasted a good goaltending effort."
Smith gave Vegas a 1-0 lead with 35 seconds remaining in the second period. Following a miscommunication behind the net by the Islanders, Jonathan Marchessault gathered the loose puck and passed to Smith, who got his own rebound after his initial shot hit the post and scored past a scrambling Varlamov.
"We stuck with it. Games like that can be pretty frustrating," Smith said. "They do a good job keeping people and pucks to the outside."

Vegas outshot New York 20-4 in the second period, including holding the Islanders without a shot for 17:13 spanning the second and third period.
"I didn't mind our first and third. Our second period, I thought, we lost too many battles," Trotz said. "We needed more chances, but you're not going to get any chances when you spend the whole second period in our end."
The Golden Knights continued to pressure the Islanders in the third period, outshooting them 15-9.
"It seems like since Day One here in Vegas, we never really got too uptight when we're up a goal," Smith said. "I think we just showed that again tonight. A lot of poise when we got pucks in our own zone."

They said it

"Semyon [Varlamov] obviously kept us in it, but not good enough. You're not going to win games this time of year playing 40 minutes. We've got to commit to a full 60-minute game, especially against a team like that in this building." -- Islanders forward Matt Martin
"I think a lot of guys stepped up defensively. I think we had a lot of key blocked shots, especially on the [penalty kill], I thought we really limited that."-- Golden Knights defenseman Shea Theodore
"We talked about giving up five even-strength goals last game (a 6-5 overtime win against the St. Louis Blues on Thursday). We wanted to clean that up. Coming down the stretch, playing playoff hockey, you have to win 1-0, 2-0. They rely on defending and goaltending and the other team to get impatient. I thought we handled the game maturely." -- Golden Knights coach Peter DeBoer

Need to know

Fleury has four shutouts this season, tied with Winnipeg Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck for second in the NHL. … Golden Knights rookie forward Cody Glass had one shot in 10:58 of ice time in his return to the lineup after missing the previous 14 games with a lower-body injury. ... Vegas reassigned forward Nicolas Roy to Chicago of the American Hockey League after the game.

What's next

Islanders:At the Arizona Coyotes on Monday (4 p.m. ET; FS-A, FS-A PLUS, MSG+, NHL.TV)
Golden Knights: Host the Washington Capitals on Monday (6 p.m. ET; NHLN, SN, ATTSN-RM, NBCSWA, NHL.TV)